


Iron Skye

by ZinniaRoseStark



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Bucky Barnes Feels, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Civil War (Marvel), Daddy Issues, Dark Loki, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Hydra (Marvel), Iron Man 1, Iron Man 2, Marriage Proposal, Nightmares, Parent Tony Stark, Post-Iron Man 3, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Protective Steve Rogers, Protective Thor, Protective Tony Stark, Psychological Torture, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sexual Tension, The Avengers (2012) Spoilers, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark's Daughter, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2018-05-20 22:14:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 120
Words: 161,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6027337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZinniaRoseStark/pseuds/ZinniaRoseStark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Incomplete. Currently being rewritten under different title. </p><p>Skye Stark, daughter of genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Tony Stark, has lived in her father's shadow for a long time. After he's kidnapped in Afghanistan, things change for the both of them. With her father's secret out in the open, Skye finds herself in a dangerous situation after SHIELD gets involved. Both of their lives change, but not for the better. What happens when Iron Man is called to save the world from destruction? What happens when Skye meets a certain soldier? And why does Loki seem so interested in her? Maybe her father revealing his superhero status to the world wasn't such a great idea after all.</p><p>Not Skye (Daisy) from Agents of SHIELD. This story will not tie in to Agents of SHIELD.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.

"Miss Pepper, when's my daddy coming home?"

Skye Stark was only six years old, but she was quickly showing signs of being a genius like her father.

"I don't know honey." Pepper said as she tucked Skye into bed. "I think he'll be back tomorrow, probably sometime in the afternoon."

Skye nodded, looking down at her hands. When Pepper had been offered the job as Tony Stark's personal assistant, she hadn't expected to also become a nanny to his daughter. But after the last nanny had quit, she volunteered herself for the job. She hadn't expected to come to care for Skye like she had over the past couple years. The poor girl had no mother and a father who spent half his time travelling the globe, and the other half drunk, shaking up with women. Pepper knew Mr. Stark loved his daughter, but she was quickly starting to play second fiddle to his playboy image.

Pepper didn't know the story behind Skye's mother, or how Mr. Stark had even met her. Skye herself didn't even know. Mr. Stark had buried those files deep down where no one except him could find them. She hadn't tried to pry that answer from him either, knowing it wasn't her business. She was there to assist Mr. Stark and Skye however she could, no matter how strange it felt. She hand't ever expected herself to be so good with kids. But Skye wasn't like most kids. She was independent, bright and was very capable of doing a lot of things herself. Skye loved Pepper, one of the reasons she even got the job in the first place. Skye had been there when she met Mr. Stark, and the four year old immediately latched on to her. She could tell then that Mr. Stark really cared for his daughter. She was offered the position right on the spot.

She quickly learned how the Stark family worked, learning a lot from the nanny at that time. She was a nice woman, when she wanted to be. A bit dim though, as Skye would constantly outsmart her. Skye had JARVIS who was more than capable of being a nanny, especially when Mr. Stark had left and the nanny refused to show up. Mr. Stark had programmed her phone so JARVIS could call her. That was the day the nanny quit after Mr. Stark had told her she was fired. It was then that Pepper stepped up to the plate after Mr. Stark had complained about getting another nanny. Between her, Happy and JARVIS, Skye had a pretty good system going. Apparently, Pepper was good with kids, and JARVIS could keep her out of places she wasn't supposed to get into. She may have been smart, but she was still a kid, and had a bit of her father's mischievous side in her. But she always respected Pepper, even more than she did her previous nannies. Pepper had been a little shocked at first, but had quickly learned she could use that to her advantage. She left most of the discipline to Mr. Stark, who surprisingly would step up into the parental role, even though Pepper felt like she did that more than he did recently.

Having a kid wasn't exactly ideal for someone's playboy image. So, Mr. Stark tried his hardest to keep that up, going to parties, getting drunk, sleeping with multiple women within a week. Some people called him a bad parent, others seemed to forget that he even had a child, as Mr. Stark tried to keep Skye's life as private as possible. He had her home-schooled so she could move at her own pace, and so she was kept out of the public eye. She had hoped when Mr. Stark made that decision, it would bring them closer together, but nevertheless, here she was, tucking Tony Stark's six year old daughter into bed while he was halfway around the world, probably waking up with a horrible hangover, in between two blond women and no idea how he got there, or who they were. Skye knew what her father did. She was a smart girl, and the six year old tried not to show that she hated it.

Pepper walked to the door, about to turn the lights out when a small voice stopped her.

"Miss Pepper? Will you read me a story?"

Pepper turned back around, smiling at the dark haired girl. "Yes, of course I will."


	2. Iron Man: Part 1

Spending my weekend in Las Vegas wasn't exactly my plan. But once again my father had managed to forget to tell me he was dragging me along with him on a trip until the last minute. I hadn't even had time to pack. He just told me he'd buy me everything I needed once we landed in Las Vegas. He dragged me along to an award ceremony, which he didn't even have the gall to attend himself. My dad's business partner Obadiah Stane was there, so I wasn't alone, but that fact didn't make me feel much better.

"It's my honor to present this year's Apogee Award to Mr. Tony Stark." My godfather Rhodey said. Everyone erupted into applause, not noticing my absent father yet.

"Do you want this one or should I take it?" Obadiah murmured into my ear from his spot behind me.

"You take this one. I've got to write a new acceptance speech." Obadiah chuckled before squeezing my shoulder, then walking up to the stage.

My father's best friend had a look of confusion on his face that quickly changed to understanding as Obadiah took the award from him.

"Thank you, Colonel." I saw Rhodey whisper something to Obadiah before standing behind him. "This is beautiful. Thank you. Thank you all very much. This is wonderful... Well, I'm not Tony Stark. But if I were Tony, I would tell you how honored I feel and what a joy it is to receive this very prestigious award. Tony, you know... The best thing about Tony is also the worst thing. He's always working." I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

I grabbed my bag and weaved my way through the crowd, trying to find where my dad went. I knew Rhodey would try and find him as well, but the place was packed with people from the award ceremony.

I finally found him at the entrance, his security, and Happy following him.

"Dad!" I called, walking as quickly as I could in my heels.

He spun around, holding his arms out towards me. "Skye! You look great tonight."

I rolled my eyes. "You saw me like three hours ago."

"Did I?"

"Yes, when you bought me this dress, then we arrived here together before you disappeared before the ceremony."

"Yeah, sorry about that." He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, leading me towards the Rolls.

I tried to resist rolling my eyes as we left Caesar's Palace. At least he wasn't bringing a woman home. We were almost to the car when I realized I spoke too soon.

"Mr. Stark! Excuse me, Mr. Stark! Christine Everhart, Vanity Fair magazine. Can I ask you a couple questions?"

"She's cute." Happy murmured to my dad.

I rolled my eyes as he turned around, knowing where this was going to go.

"Can I ride in the front?" I asked Happy, giving him the best puppy dog eyes I could manage.

"Fine." He said, opening the passenger side door for me.

I sighed as my dad and his souvenir got into the back of the Rolls. This was going to be a long ride home.

**Malibu, California**

I all but ran into the house, heading straight for my room, not wanting to wait around for my dad and his souvenir to get inside.

"JARVIS?"

"Yes, Miss Stark?" The AI answered.

"Wake me up around 6:30 tomorrow." I yawned, stretching. "I don't want to miss my dad in case he actually leaves on time. Do you think it's possible that will happen?"

"I can say it is highly unlikely he will leave on time."

"Thought so. Wake me up early anyways."

I changed out of the dress I had hastily picked out in Vegas, discarded my heels in the middle of the floor, then slipped into bed.

JARVIS woke me up early like I asked, too early for my liking, but I grabbed my computer anyways and made my way to the kitchen. There was no sign of the souvenir my father brought home last night but I didn't get my hopes up.

I made myself a Hot Pocket and brewed a cup of coffee before heading down to the garage. My dad was supposed to have left for Afghanistan an hour ago, but knowing him he was taking his time. I knew he really didn't want to do the weapons demonstration, but it was his company and his design. And there he was, working on his Roadster.

"Dad, you know you're supposed to be on a plane right now, right?" I asked before taking a bite of my Hot Pocket.

"Yup." He said, unscrewing a part of the car. "Was she up yet?"

"Nope. Probably is now though."

"How do you think she'll take it?"

"Probably really well. I got the independent, 'I'm not going to cry over a man' vibe from her." I said, sitting down on the tire of the Roadster.

"You're good at reading people." He said, pointing at me with his wrench before going back to the car.

"I know." I said, shrugging. "It's a gift."

"You're like your mother that way. She was always good at reading people. That's how we first met, actually."

Things went silent after he said that. We never talked about my mom. I didn't know hardly anything about her, as my dad would only mention her in slip-ups. Or he'd avoid the question and give me vague answers. He hid everything that had to do with her, keeping me completely in the dark. He always said that was the best thing for me, but sometimes I wondered. What was she like? How did they meet? I didn't even know what she looked like.

I looked up as Pepper came down the stairs, letting herself into the garage, the music turning down as she came in.

"Please don't turn down my music."

"You are supposed to be halfway around the world right now." Pepper said.

"How'd she take it?"

"Like a champ."

"Why are you trying to hustle me out of here?"

"Your flight was scheduled to leave an hour and a half ago."

"That's funny, I thought with it being my plane and all, that it would just wait for me to get there."

"Tony, I need to speak to you about a couple things before I get you out the door."

"Doesn't it kind of defeat the whole purpose of having your own plane if it departs before you arrive?"

"Larry called." Pepper said, interrupting him. "He's got another buyer for the Jackson Pollock in the wings. Do you want it? Yes or no."

"Is it a good representation of his spring period?"

"No. The Springs was actually the neighborhood in East Hampton where he lived and worked, not 'spring' like the season."

"So?"

"I think it's a fair example. Uh, I think it's incredibly overpriced."

"I need it." My dad said, standing up. "Buy it. Store it." He walked over to the mini bar, Pepper following him.

"Okay. The MIT commencement speech-"

"Is in June. Please, don't harangue me about stuff that's way, way down..."

"Well, they're haranguing me, so I'm gonna say yes."

"Deflect it and absorb it. Don't transmit it back to me."

"I need you to sign this before you get on the plane."

"What are you trying to get rid of me for? What, you got plans?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"I don't like it when you have plans."

"I'm allowed to have plans on my birthday."

"It's your birthday?"

"Yes."

"I knew that. Already?"

"Yeah. Isn't that strange? It's the same day as last year."

I bit my lip to keep my laugh in.

"Get yourself something nice from me."

"I already did."

"And?"

"It was very nice. Very tasteful. Thank you, Mr. Stark."

"You're welcome, Miss Potts."

My dad drank his coffee shot before handing the cup to Pepper.

"You," He pointed at me. "Get dressed."

"What?"

"I need your assistance."

"Okay..." I said, following him up the stairs.

I went to my room, changing into nicer clothes, pulling my favorite pair of Converse on. I grabbed Pepper's present before heading back out to the living room.

"Hey, Pepper." I said, approaching the redhead. "Here." I handed her the black box. "Happy Birthday."

"Oh, thank you." She opened it to reveal the diamond encrusted silver necklace.

"I got it to match the dress you got for yourself."

"It's beautiful. Thank you." She said, pulling me into a hug.

"Come on Skye." My dad said, disappearing down to the garage.

"I'll see you tomorrow." I said to Pepper before following him.

My dad was leaning on the Audi when I got to the garage.

"What are we doing?"

"I'm going to the airport but I need someone to drive the car back."

"You're trusting me with the Audi?"

"Why not?" He said, climbing in the driver's side.

"Where's your luggage?"

"Happy's following us in the Rolls."

I nodded. He sped off, breaking a few traffic laws on the way. The Rolls was a little black dot behind us as my dad sped to the airport, taking the longest back road he could. Sometimes I could swear he does it on purpose. No, I know he does it on purpose. My dad ripped into the airport parking lot, squeaking to a stop on the wet pavement. We both got out, Happy pulling up next to us.

"You're good!" Happy said, getting my dad's luggage from the back of the Rolls.

"I thought I lost you back there."

"You did, Sir. I had to cut across Mulholland."

"Ah, I got you. I got you."

He handed me the car keys. "Take care of her, Skye." He kissed my forehead. "I'll see you in a couple days."

"What's wrong with you?" Rhodey said from his spot by the door of the plane.

"What?"

"Three hours."

"I got caught doing a piece for Vanity Fair." My dad said, running up the stairs of the plane.

"For three hours. For three hours you got me standing here."

My dad disappeared into the plane. I leaned against the car. "Take care of him, Rhodey." I whispered.

Happy descended the stairs and walked over to the Rolls.

"Wanna race?" I grinned at Happy, jingling the keys.

To make a long story short, I won the race home. Like they say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

I started on my schoolwork in the mostly empty house. Happy was in the gym training, which left me alone. Well, I had JARVIS, but I still felt alone.

I ate by myself that night, ordering pizza and watching movies in my room. The mansion was quieter than usual. It wasn't the first time I had been alone, but this time it felt emptier than usual. I went to the kitchen, putting the leftover pizza away before getting ready for bed.

I said goodnight to JARVIS before curling up in bed to a night of fitful sleep.

My phone rang around 3 in the morning. I sat up, not even looking at the caller I.D.

"Hello?" I said, my voice still rough with sleep.

_Skye?_

It was a video call from my dad.

"Dad…" I could hear what sounded like gunshots in the background. Dust was flying everywhere and my dad looked panicked.

_Skye, I'm in trouble. I just wanted you to know something. I wanted to tell you-_

Something caught his attention to his right.

_Skye-_

Something exploded and screen went black.

My breathing quickened, panic rising in my throat. I dialed his number and prayed for an answer.

It went straight to voicemail.


	3. Missing, Part 1

**Month 1**

"You're dad is missing." Those words rang through my head like a catchy melody for the longest time. I almost dropped the phone when Rhodey uttered those words.

I had finally gotten ahold of him and he told me the story of what happened. I didn’t want to believe that it was true. Pepper came over immediately after she got the call, offering support. I held it together as long as I could, crying instead in my bathroom, privately so no one would hear me or see me. I didn’t sleep well that night either. I couldn’t help but think that I was the last person my dad had contact with before he went missing. I just wanted to know what it was he was trying to tell me. Would I ever find out? No. I can’t think like that. Rhodey said he’s missing, not dead. They weren’t bringing home a body. They were looking for one. But I didn’t know that. Would whoever kidnapped him, kill him? Obviously they needed something if they kidnapped him, but would they let him go once they got it? What was it they wanted? Money? Weapons? That would be the first guess. Was this a ransom? Or were they just trying to prove a point? If they can manage to kidnap Tony Stark, they hold a lot of power in their hands. Would they come after me next? Was I safe here? 

The morning after he went missing I had a visitor. Pepper hadn’t come over yet, so I was alone. JARVIS said he worked for the government, one of many I was probably going to see. 

“Let him in.” I told JARVIS, making my way towards the foyer. 

“Skye Stark?” A well dressed man in his early forties stood in the foyer. He was on the shorter side but he had a kind face. 

“Who’s asking?” 

“Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.” 

“That’s quite the name. You should come up with an acronym for that.” 

“I know. We’re working on it.” He smiled at me. “Can we talk for a couple minutes.” I nodded, turning towards the living room. “I know this isn’t the best time, but there are some pressing matters at hand.” 

I sat down on the couch and he sat down not far from me. “Is this about the fact that I was the last person to speak with my father before he went missing? Because I haven’t told anyone that. And I don’t plan to.” 

“No, but we’ll get to that in a minute now that you’ve mentioned it. I’m here to ask if your father would ever sell out this country to save himself? Your father’s company is the number one arms dealer for the Armed Forces, he may know details about our National Security. Our biggest concern is that he may tell his kidnappers those secrets.” 

“No.” I said immediately. “He may be arrogant, narcissistic, kind of rude sometimes, but he’d never think of doing something like that. He’d die before he let himself tear down an entire country just to save his own skin. Plus I don’t think he really knows that much about the American defense system.” 

Agent Coulson nodded. “You said you were the last person he contacted?” 

“Yeah. The night before last, at about 3 in the morning I got a call from him. It was a video call. He looked terrified. I could hear bullets and explosions in the background. He tried to tell me something, but there was an explosion and he was gone. I tried to get ahold of him again, but it went to voicemail.” 

“What do you think he was trying to tell you?” 

“I don’t know.” I laughed lightly. “Knowing him it could have been anything.” 

“Thank you, Miss Stark.” Agent Coulson said, standing up. I stood as well, walking him to the door. “We’ll let you know if we find anything.” He pulled a business card from his jacket. “Here’s my card. Call me if you need anything, or if you hear anything from your father.

“Thank you.” I went to close the door, but stopped short. “Agent Coulson?” He turned back around. “If the kidnappers decide...that he’s...not enough...” 

“Don’t worry. We’ve got eyes on this house. Anything seems out of place and we’ll be on the doorstep faster than you can say Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.” 

I nodded and watched as he got back in his car, driving down the long driveway. I didn’t know whether to be comforted by those words, or slightly concerned. 

Once word got out that my father was missing, the press started showing up at the end of the driveway. Most of them were waiting to hear the news of what was going to happen to Stark Industries. Would I be taking over my father's position? Or would I hand it to Obadiah?

But those things were the least of my concerns. I just wanted my dad safe and sound. I kept my phone by my side day and night, every small buzz waking me, getting my hopes up, only for them to come crashing down again. It had only been a couple weeks, but it felt like a lifetime. I started to fear the worst, even as Pepper tried to be as positive as she could. 

That was hard for us. Pepper was like family, and it as just as hard on her as it was me. As far as I knew I could be an orphan now. I didn’t know what had happened to my mother, and now the only thing I knew about my father was that he was kidnapped. 

The nights were hard. I was alone in the mansion, apart from JARVIS, but it wasn’t the same. Sure, I was used to being alone in the mansion, but at least then I knew my dad was coming back. This time, I wasn’t so sure. 

I passed by my dad's room, the door ajar. The bed was unmade and the clothes he had worn to Vegas still in a pile on the floor.

The tears ran like a waterfall down my face as I let myself cry for the first time that day. I opened his closet door, pulling out one of his dirty shirts from the laundry bin. I held it to my face, taking in his aftershave. It was comforting to me. It was almost like he was close again. He’d tuck me in, telling me everything was going to be alright. That it was all just a nightmare. But this time I wasn’t so lucky. 

I stumbled my way to the bed, slowly, cautiously climbing into the side my dad slept on. I held his shirt to my chest as I buried my face in his pillow. I cried through the night until I fell asleep sometime in the early morning.

I was having nightmares. Every time I closed my eyes I would see his panicked face and hear the explosion and the screen would go dark. Except I would see him and he'd be bleeding on the ground. I would cry, scream for him but my cries would go unheard. Then I would wake up, sweaty and screaming still.

So I resolved to sleeping very little. I buried myself in my dad's garage and had JARVIS teach me about cars and how to fix them. I worked on the Roadrunner, fixing every little thing my dad was planning on doing, JARVIS patiently walking me through it. It felt weird being alone in his garage. It felt almost wrong, but I knew it didn’t matter now. 

Pepper came over every day. Happy would too. I would have Pepper watch the news and Happy run errands because I didn't want to face the press who were waiting for my return to the public eye.

Obadiah came over one day to check on me. He was overly concerned for my well being. He brought pizza and asked me what I was going to do about Stark Industries. I told him he was in control again. I knew nothing about being a businessperson and I was in no shape mentally to be running a company.

He told me to call him if I needed anything at all and I let him go with a nod and a thank you. I told JARVIS to warn me whenever he was coming near the house and to not let him in under any circumstance.

After the first month, things really started going downhill.

 


	4. Missing, Part 2

**Month 2**

The second month was when things started going downhill. People started losing hope. News spread all over that my father was dead. I couldn't believe them. My father wasn't dead.

Then Obadiah's unhealthy interest took a turn to obsessive. He decided to file for custody of me. I had never been so scared in my life.

"It's okay, Skye. Your dad specifically stated in his will that if anything should happen that he couldn't care for you then you would go into my custody." Pepper said as we sat at the table. "He's not going to win that case."

Her words did nothing to calm my anxiety.

Even when we had to go to court, I was still nervous that there would be some loophole in the will, and that I would be forced to live with Obadiah. 

It was no secret I didn’t like him. Well, at least to everyone but him. I forced myself to be nice. I forced myself to be civil. But I couldn’t hide my distaste for him when I was alone. He creeped me out. There was just something about him that terrified me. I was scared to be around him in a crowded room, much less alone. I knew he was one of my grandfather’s close friends, but even the nicest men had their dark sides. And I had a hard time considering Obadiah Stane a nice man. 

The stress really got to me. I stopped eating. My work on my dad's car became obsessive. I hardly left the garage and only ate when Pepper brought me food. She had moved in, along with Happy so I wouldn't be alone. But I had never felt so alone before.

I also stopped sleeping. I would only sleep when I got so tired I passed out. It wasn’t healthy, but I couldn’t bring myself to face the nightmares. To have to watch my father in what could very well be his last moments. I had started to lose hope myself. The news got to me, all the people saying he was dead. He’d been gone a month. They say after 24 hours the chances of finding someone become slim. He was kidnapped in the middle of the desert. His hope was slim as it was. 

I became obsessed. I dug and dug, trying to find any shred of information about my mother, but all of my attempts to override JARVIS’s system were fruitless. I spend hours upon hours searching, but only came up empty handed. Maybe he had hidden it for a reason. Maybe it was better I didn’t know. Especially with the unknown situation with my dad. I didn’t think I could handle that much if it really was bad. Was she dead too? But my father wasn’t dead...was he? 

**Month 3**

It was during the third month that I really began to lose hope. Rhodey called me every couple of days to update me on his search, but it never strengthened my hope. I had really begun to believe that I was an orphan. I was alone in this world now. Would I take my father’s place as the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company? Would I give up and just hand all control over to Obadiah?

He was still trying to take custody of me. For whatever reason he really wanted control of the Stark name, because if he gained custody of me, that's what he would get. But Pepper fought back just as hard. Obadiah wouldn't get his hands on me if it was the last thing he did. Or at least that’s what she told me. I had stopped believing anything anyone told me. I had gone numb. I stopped caring. I figured I’d live with Pepper until I was 18, then live off my father’s wealth until I died too, however long that would take. I had no hope left. I lost track of when I ate, of when I slept, burying myself in my work on my dad’s cars, like he had so many times before. Pepper had to force me to eat, and sleep, and even take showers. I tried to avoid the bathroom, because there were mirrors in the bathroom, but one morning, I caught a good look at myself. And it scared me. 

I had lost a lot of weight during the three months my father had been missing. The lack of food and sleep had really taken their toll on me. There were dark circles under my eyes, which were bloodshot from lack of sleep and crying almost every night. My skin, which used to be tan from the Malibu sun had lost all of its color. I looked like the living dead. I quickly covered all of the reflective surfaces in the house. I didn’t want to have to look at myself. 

But the good news was I had become a master at fixing cars. JARVIS taught me everything I needed to know and how to fix everything. I was starting to live up to the Stark name. Maybe I wasn’t a lost case. I wouldn’t be a disappointment like I had feared so much before. I had started to come to terms with the idea that my father wasn’t coming back. That maybe I was the last of the Stark name. That the name would die with me. 

Then one phone call changed everything. 

It was Rhodey. I didn't think much of it because it was about time for his routine phone call about how they hadn't found anything yet but they weren't giving up just yet.

But what he said changed that. All he said this time was: "We found him."

 


	5. Reunited

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"I'm sure."

"What if he doesn't even remember who I am?"

"Don't say that. I'm sure you're all he thought about these past three months."

Pepper and I were on our way to the air base to pick up my dad. I didn't know whether to be terrified or thrilled that my dad was back. I was scared that things would just go back to the way they were before. My dad would go back to almost completely ignoring me and I would go on being ignored.

Both Pepper and Happy stood outside the Rolls but I couldn't bring myself to get out. Not until I saw him. Then I would know this wasn't a cruel trick and he really was coming home. I had gone too long without hope to even believe it when Rhodey said they found him. 

I watched the C-17 land and the ramp in the back open. Two figures emerged from the plane, one being guided carefully.

He walked up to Pepper and they exchanged a few words and I almost forgot where I was.

I slowly opened the car door, still afraid that this was a nightmare and everything was going to dissipate when I left the Rolls. My dad's eyes left Pepper and he did a double take when he saw me. I stayed where I was as he limped towards me.

“Hi dad.” I said, staring up at him when he stopped in front of me. 

“Oh Skye.” He breathed before wrapping his good arm around me, pulling me against his chest. 

I tried to hold it in, I tried to stay strong, but the tears started falling, the sobs choking me as I let out three months worth of fear, anger, anxiety and pain in my dad’s arms. I clutched to his shirt, breathing him in as I cried, his hand softly rubbing my back as he whispered to me, telling me everything was fine now, and that he was okay. I wanted to believe him. I really did, but I knew he wasn’t. You didn’t get kidnapped for three months then come back and say you’re okay. I knew things were going to change. 

"Please don't leave me again." I whimpered into his chest.

"I won't." He whispered into my hair. "I won't."

Once my crying was done and my dad had wiped the tears from my face, and I caught Pepper wiping a few from her face out of the corner of my eye, we loaded into the Rolls.

"Where to, Sir?" Happy asked. I sat in between Pepper and my dad, glued to my dad's side.

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy." Pepper said.

"No."

"No? Tony, you have to go to the hospital."

"No is a complete answer."

"The doctor has to look at you."

I smiled a little at their bickering. I had missed that. 

"I don't have to do anything. I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger, and the other..."

"That's enough of that."

"...is not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference now."

"What?" I sat up, looking at him. He looked down at me for a second before looking back at Pepper.

"Call for a press conference?"

"Yeah."

"What on earth for?"

"Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first."

After going through the drive-thru at Burger King where my dad had made comments about how thin I felt and ordered me a large french fry, we made our way to Stark Industries.

Obadiah met us as we pulled up, greeting my dad like a long, lost brother, quickly ushering him inside. Pepper and I followed the two inside, both of us staying at the back of the crowd of reporters.

Rhodey entered and I walked over to him.

"Thank you." I said. "Thank you so much." I wrapped my arms around him.

"I told you I wasn't giving up that easily." He said, smiling at me.

"Hey, would it be all right if everyone sat down? Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can... A little less formal and..." I heard my dad's voice. I looked for him, only to see him sitting at the base of the podium.

"What's up with the love-in?" Rhodey asked Pepper who had sat along with the reporters. I sat down next to her, leaning back on my hands, my legs straight out in front of me.

"Don't look at me. I don't know what he's up to."

"Good to see you." My dad addressed Obadiah who was sitting next to him.

"Good to see you."

"I never got to say goodbye to dad." He said to Obadiah. "I never got to say goodbye to my father. There's questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. lf he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels. ... I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

"Mr Stark!" One of the reporters yelled.

"Hey, Ben."

"What happened over there?"

"I had my eyes opened. I came to realise that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be. What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well."

The reporters had jumped to their feet and I sat there in shock. My dad came up to me and held his good hand out. I took it and he pulled me to my feet, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and through the door. I ignored the press, knowing I was going to get remarks for the way I looked, but could you blame me? My dad had been missing for three months and everyone had said he was dead. You wouldn’t look like you just came off the runway either. 

"Happy." My dad said. 

"Yes sir?"

"Take them home then come back. I have something I need to take care of."

My dad kissed my forehead, lingering there for a moment before walking away.

I watched him walk away, my brow furrowed. The same question was on my mind as everyone else's. What really happened over there? Did I want to know? A part of me did, but another part felt like this was the same as my situation with my mom. Maybe it was better if I just didn’t know. 

 


	6. The Truth Comes Out

It had been only two weeks since my dad's return. My hopes that things had changed were quickly diminished, as he had taken to holing himself up in the garage again. I couldn't blame him, since he had been kidnapped, and god knows what had happened to him. Maybe he just needed his space right now, even though no one wanted to give it to him.

I avoided the garage like the plague for the first couple weeks, but I knew I needed to talk to him eventually. He was my dad, and I cared about him, no matter how narcissistic and arrogant he could be. I finally swallowed my nerves, descending down to the garage, putting in the pass-code before entering slowly. My dad showed no signs of noticing anyone had entered, his back to me as he tinkered away at something.

"Hey Dad?" I approached him slowly, not wanting to sneak up on him, and also because, as ridiculous as it was, I was a little scared. "Um...I just...I just wanted to tell you..." Why was this so hard? He's your father, Skye. My dad turned from what he was doing to face me. He took off his glasses and wheeled his chair over to me. "I, uh, fixed the car you were working on. I had JARVIS teach me everything and I..." I didn't want to admit that I had started losing hope.

"Come here." My dad said.

I closed the distance, taking the few steps towards him. He surprised me by pulling me into his arms, burying his face in my shoulder, gripping me tightly. I leaned the side of my head against his and breathed in his aftershave.

I tightened my arms around him as the horrors of the past three months washed over me again. I hated crying in front of him. I hated showing any weakness at all. I bit the side of my cheek to keep from sobbing like a baby.

"I didn't want you to be disappointed by me." I whispered.

My dad pulled away from me, holding me at arm's length. "Why would I be disappointed by you?"

Where do I begin? "Well, I'm not a genius and I don't exactly live up to the Stark name..."

"Hey, that doesn't disappoint me. You're just a normal kid. You're more than a normal kid. You've already graduated from high school at 16. That's better than most people. So what you're no genius. You're still a Stark."

I smiled a little. "Thanks, dad." I said hugging him again.

I had finished my school work for the day and was making my way to the kitchen for some dinner when I overheard Pepper and my dad talking.

"She hardly slept, Tony."

"That's normal for teenagers."

"She slept in your bed, what little she did sleep and she would wake up in the middle of the night screaming for you. Tony, don't push her away again. She buried herself in the garage to prove herself to you."

"We've already been over this, Pepper."

"Do you know what she said to me when we were on our way to the air base?"

"How could I possibly know that?"

I could almost hear Pepper's look. "She asked me if it was a good idea that she go to pick you up because she wasn't sure if you would remember her or not. Tony, do this for her. Please."

I walked back to my room, suddenly not hungry anymore. What were they talking about? What did Pepper want him to do? I got a little nervous, as I usually did when it came to my dad doing things for me. They usually ended up flashy and overwhelming. I was not like my dad when it came to being in the public eye, and I really was not prepared for that yet. I still didn't look any better, despite the food my dad and Pepper forced down my throat. I still didn't feel better, having my dad here. Maybe because he had changed. It wasn't noticeable at first. He put on a pretty good front. But, something really had happened to him. Something had opened his eyes, and now, he was starting to worry me. I could only imagine what Pepper had planned for my dad and I, and it scared me a little.

The next morning, my dad got me up early, even though I hadn't slept well the night before. We went out on the patio, sitting in front of the pool. It was still a little dark outside, the sun not yet risen over the hills. It was calm though, and still warm for September. It was silent between us as we drank our coffee, looking out over the ocean.

"Pepper was the one who originally told me to do this. I knew it would happen eventually, but then again I also held on to the hope that you would settle with the answers I gave you. I know you're curious, just like me. And you deserve to know about your mother. I kept it from you, thinking I could keep you safe, but now...in Afghanistan, they kept me in a cave. And in that cave, I thought to myself that if I died, you would never know. You would forever wonder about your mother. And now I realize, I had no right to keep that from you. You deserve to know the truth. All of it." I swallowed the lump in my throat, slightly afraid of what I was going to hear. "We met at a gala not long after I took over as CEO of Stark Industries. She was the bar tender. I tried hitting on her, but she wasn't having any of it. She called me an arrogant ass and a narcissist. She told me not to let the money and the fame go to my head. I found out later she was a psychology major at Stanford. I eventually took her home, but she was different. I think it was because she made me breakfast the next morning. I hadn't been made breakfast in a long time. She reminded me of my mother, kind of like you do sometimes." He was silent for a moment. "We started dating then. I didn't see much of her, as she was away at school, and I was busy at work, travelling. But we still talked all the time. She spent Christmas with me that year. It was the first time in a long time I hadn't been alone for the holiday's. We dated for a long time. Almost six years. It was when she was pregnant with you that things went downhill. I tried to save her. I really did."

"What happened?" I asked, a little afraid of what his answer would be.

"She started to get sick. Not just pregnancy sick either. I'd find her passed out on the bathroom floor, in the shower, she'd wake up in the middle of the night having a seizure. She'd never showed anything like that before. I hired the best doctors, but none of them could figure out what was wrong with her. I hired a live-in nurse to take care of her. And the nurse was the one who first noticed it. She had started scratching at her stomach, at her arms, even her face once. She would scream at the nurse to get the baby out of her. That it was killing her. She would talk in her sleep about bright lights and a rainbow bridge. She'd wake up screaming that she was falling, then she'd come back to herself for a second. I'd be looking at the woman I fell in love with again. But then she'd go back to the confused, scared woman she'd become. She'd complain that it was cold all the time, even when we had the heat cranked all the way up. I thought things would change when you were born, but she got worse. She locked herself in the bathroom. She'd sit and cover her ears, saying she couldn't stand the sound of your cries. I finally broke down and got professional help. The psychiatrist told me it was normal for new mothers to have breakdowns during the first few months. He told me that until he witnessed it first hand." He shook his head, looking down at the tablet in his hands. "I had to make the hardest decision of my life then. The psychiatrist believed she would be safest in a hospital. I don't know why I didn't do it at the first signs, maybe because I didn't want my daughter to be born in a mental hospital, or maybe because I believed I could save her. But I let them take her away. Ashamed of what I had to do, I locked away every little detail I had about her. I didn't want anyone knowing about her."

"Why did you keep it from me? She's my mother. I deserved to know at least what she looked like."

"I know. And I regret not telling you sooner. But I didn't want you to think of her as the crazy woman who hated you. Your mother was so excited when she found out she was pregnant. She wanted kids, and she was so happy. She would have loved you more than anything." He slid the tablet over to me, an old picture of a woman with dark, wavy hair and pale skin on the screen. Her eyes were grey, like the ocean on a stormy day. "You look like her sometimes. You have her smile." Indeed I did. "I don't know what caused her to lose her mind, even to this day. I still feel guilty for doing it, but I knew she was a danger to herself, and you, and me. I didn't want to take that risk."

"You did the right thing." I said, sliding the tablet back over to him. "You probably saved her life."

He nodded. "I know. I let you think she was dead for the longest time. But she's not. I still visit her every so often, but she doesn't remember who I am. She barely remembers who she is. Your mother's still alive in there somewhere, Skye. No matter how dead she is on the inside, she's still alive. Just remember that."

I tried to. I really did.


	7. Operation

My dad and I sat outside and talked for a while. It was nice, getting one-on-one time with him again. It had been far too long since we'd been able to do that. He still wouldn't tell me what had happened in Afghanistan, but I didn't push anything. I figured he'd told me enough that day. At least now I knew something about my mother, no matter how disturbing it was. I went to bed that night feeling unsure. Was it my fault? Did I drive my mother insane? Was I going to end up like her? My dad told me not to think that, but I couldn't help myself. It was a possibility, no matter how badly he wanted to deny it.

I woke up the next morning to my dad calling me.

"Skye!"

I reached over to my nightstand, turning up the volume. The nice thing about this house here: every surface can be your computer.

"What?"

"How big are your hands?"

"What? Why would you-" I was still half asleep, and trying to process why my dad needed that information was mind boggling.

"I need you down here."

"Fine." I groaned, climbing out of bed.

I took my barefoot self down to the workshop, punching my code in the door. My dad was sitting, inclined in one of his chairs, hooked up to a bunch of machines.

"Hey. Let's see them. Show me your hands." I held my hands up as I walked towards him. "Oh, wow. They are small. Very petite, indeed. I just need your help for a sec."

"I need your help. This thing," He pointed to the arc reactor in his chest "is now an antique and I need to change it out. I've just ran into a little speed bump."

"Speed bump, what does that mean?"

"It's' nothing. It's' just a little snag." He pulled the reactor out slowly. "There's an exposed wire under this device. And it's contacting the socket wall and causing a little bit of a short. It's' fine."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Put that on the table over there. That is irrelevant." I put the old reactor on a table behind behind me. "I want you to reach in, and you're just gonna gently lift the wire out."

"Is it safe?"

"Yeah, it should be fine. It's' like Operation. You just don't let it touch the socket wall or it goes 'beep'"

"There's one problem. I suck at Operation."

"You'll be fine. Just gently lift the wire. Okay? Great."

I went to put my hand in the hole in his chest but I couldn't do it. "I don't think that I can do this."

"No, you're fine. You're gonna do great. Is it too much of a problem to ask? 'Cause I'm kinda in a jam here..."

"Okay, okay." I put my hand in the cavity, feeling around for the wire. "There's pus!"

"It's' not pus. It's' an inorganic plasmic discharge from the device, not from my body."

"It smells!"

"Yeah, it does. The copper wire. The copper wire, you got it?"

"Okay, I got it! I got it!"

"Okay, you got it? Now, don't let it touch the sides... argh" I accidently let the wire touch the side and he flinched "when you're coming out!"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"That's what I was trying to tell you before. Okay, now make sure that when you pull it out, you don't... There's a magnet at the end of it..." i pulled the whole thing out. "That was it. You just pulled it out."

"Oh, God!"

"Okay, I was not expecting..." I went to put it back in. "Don't put it back in! Don't put it back in!"

"Okay, what do I do?" The machines were beeping loudly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just going into cardiac arrest 'cause you yanked it out like a trout..."

"What? You said it was safe!" I yelled at him.

"We gotta hurry. Take this. Take this." He handed me the new reactor. "You gotta switch it out really quick."

"Okay. Okay." I started to put the reactor in then stopped. "Dad, It's' going to be okay."

"What? Is it?"

"It's' gonna be okay. I'm gonna make this okay."

"Let's hope. Okay, you're gonna attach that to the base plate. Make sure..." I put the reactor in successfully. "Was that so hard? That was fun, right? Here, I got it. I got it. Here. Nice." He finished twisting the reactor in his chest before facing me.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I feel great. You okay?" He started laughing.

"Don't ever ask me to do anything like that ever again." I grabbed the towel in his lap and wiped my hands with it.

"I don't have anyone but you and Pepper and you know she'd never do anything like this. Anyway.." He slid off the chair, standing in front of me.

"What do you want me to do with this?" I said holding the old reactor.

"That? Destroy it. Incinerate it."

"You don't want to keep it?"

"Skye, I've been called many things. 'Nostalgic' is not one of them." He looked over my outfit before shaking his head.

"What?" I asked, looking down at my clothes. My spandex shorts and tank top.

"Those shorts are way too short."

"I sleep in these. It's not like I'm going to walk out in public in this."

"Good. I don't need any guys looking at you anymore than they do already."

"Dad, I'm sixteen. I think it's safe for me to start dating now."

"Absolutely not. You're not dating until you're married."

"How is that supposed to work?"

"You'll figure something out."

I rolled my eyes. "You're hopeless." I murmured, walking away from him.

"I heard that!"

I shook my head, carrying the arc reactor up the stairs. I had a plan for it, I just needed some expert advice.


	8. What Happened In Afghanistan

A couple weeks went by since my dad had asked me to help him with the arc reactor. I still had some questions and I was determined to get some answers. I decided to corner him one day, when he was down in the garage, where he spent most of his time now days.

I went down to the garage, coffee in hand, knowing he'd need it since he wasn't sleeping much.

"Dad?" I asked after I'd opened the door, my dad sitting in front of his computers working on something. "Dad, I brought you coffee." I set the mug next to him, picking up the empty one. "Dad, can we talk?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure." He looked at me for a second before going back to his computer screens.

I doubted he'd even heard me. I grabbed the back of the chair, spinning it around so he was facing me. He looked tires, like he hadn't slept in ages. That was probably the case though. "Dad, we need to talk."

He looked up at me with tired eyes for a moment before nodding. "Okay."

He stood up, wrapping an arm around my shoulders before leading me to the couch on the opposite side of the garage.

"So. Let's talk." He said sitting down.

I sat down, slightly sideways so I could see him. "I want to know about that." I pointed to the circle of light shining through his shirt. "The thing I stuck my hand into a couple weeks ago for you. I want to know where it came from. Because I know you didn't have it before you went to Afghanistan."

He looked down at the arc reactor before looking back at me. "I got it in Afghanistan. When I called you, the convoy that was escorting me had been attacked. I tried to hide, but a missile landed next to me. It had Stark Industries right on the side of it."

"That's what happened when you called me."

He nodded. "The missile exploded, and some of the shrapnel was lodged in my chest. The people who attacked the convoy took me from the area to a cave somewhere in Afghanistan. I couldn't tell you where it was now. There was a doctor that was captive there as well. He attached a car battery to a magnet in my chest to keep the shrapnel from reaching my heart. They wanted me to build a Jericho Missile, so instead I built this." He tapped the arc reactor. "They had hundreds of weapons from Stark Industries there."

"That's why you stopped weapons production. Because you think someone's dealing under the table."

"I know someone's dealing under the table."

"Dad, when you called me, you said you wanted to tell me something. What was it?"

He reached over, smoothing my hair away from my face. "I wanted to tell you that I love you. And that I'm sorry I've been such a horrible parent."

"Dad." I shook my head, taking his hand in mine. "You're not a bad parent. You're a billionaire with an image to protect. Having a kid with no mother isn't exactly an easy image to maintain. I've made it so far and I think I'm okay."

He pulled me into his side, kissing the side of my head before I leaned it on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly for a moment.

"Dad, you should probably get some sleep. Sleep deprivation does horrible things to your body."

"Why are you telling me this? Aren't I supposed to be the parent here?"

I laughed, tucking my feet up to my chest as I reveled in the fact I was spending time with my dad again. It felt good, being able to act like his daughter again, and not just some homeless kid who lives in his house.

A couple more weeks passed and I was the one forcing my dad to sleep. I'd cut off his coffee at a certain point at night so either he'd fall asleep, or he'd have to come up with more creative ways to stay awake. I had told Pepper about my idea for my dad's old arc reactor and she helped me make it happen.

Obadiah Stane came over one night after a trip to New York. I got a nervous gnawing in my stomach as he walked in the door. He came in the room, pizza in hand. I was sitting on the couch, laptop in hand, surfing TMZ's website, reading the ridiculous stories about my dad and I.

"Tony's downstairs in the garage. I'll buzz him, let him know you're here."

I could feel Obadiah's eyes on me, making me squirm. I set my laptop on the coffee table and made my way to the stairs down to my dad's workshop.

"Where are you going Skye?" Pepper asked me.

"To get my dad."

"I already buzzed him."

"Yeah, and he's going to listen." Another thing I inherited from my dad besides his looks.

"Wait. Would you take this to him?" She handed me the box and a coffee mug. She gave me a knowing look as she handed me the items.

I punched in my code, waking into the garage.

"Dad," He was sitting at a table. "Pepper buzzed you. Did you hear?" Probably not.

"Yeah, everything's... What?"

"Obadiah's upstairs."

"Great!"

"What would you like me to tell him?"

"Great. I'll be right up."

"Okay. I thought you said you were done making weapons." I said, looking at the price of machinery attached to his arm.

"It... This is a flight stabiliser... It's completely harmless." He activated the machine and it threw him back across the room. "I didn't expect that."

"Uh-huh." I crossed my arms.

"What?" My dad asked, taking the stabilizer off his arm.

I shrugged, looking down at the floor.

"Come on. Something's bothering you." He placed his hands on my shoulders, holding me at arm's length.

"Obadiah brought pizza."

"Alright then let's go." He started leading me towards the door.

"Don't make me go up there." I said, stopping and grabbing his hand.

"Why not?"

"Because...because...there's something that happened while you were gone."

My dad sighed. "Alright. I'll be back, just...just stay here."

He disappeared up the stairs before coming back down about 10 minutes later. I was sitting on the couch, channel surfing. He hopped the back of the couch, landing beside me, his arm stretched across the back of the couch.

"So. Tell me."

"Look, just, promise you won't get mad." I said, facing him, sitting criss-cross applesauce on the couch.

"Skye..."

"Promise you're not going to make a scene or try and get revenge."

"I promise." He said, holding out his pinky.

I linked my pinky with his before starting. "While you were gone, about a month or so after you disappeared, Obadiah decided to try and gain custody of me. He came over once right after you disappeared and he seemed very concerned with my well being. He got a lawyer and wanted to go to court but you had put in your will that Pepper was to gain custody of me."

My dad's face was blank. I could see him processing everything as he stared at my face.

"Come here." He finally said, motioning for me to get closer. I slid over and he pulled me into his side, wrapping his arms around me. "You know I wouldn't let anything happen to you, right?" I nodded. "I know you think I don't care."

"Is all this 'I've been a horrible father' stuff coming from what Pepper told you?"

His brow furrowed. "What?"

"I overheard you and Pepper the other night. Her telling you to do something. I know you didn't tell me about my mom on a 'spur of the moment' feeling."

"Well, I kind of did. Pepper just gave me the shove I needed to get out the door and tell you."

"Interesting way to put it." I said, leaning my head on his shoulder. "You finally going to tell me how you escaped from the cave in Afghanistan?"

"Maybe one of these days. Your birthday's coming up."

I shook my head at his attempt to change the subject. "It's a month and a half away."

"Still, that's pretty close."

"Dad, stop changing the subject to less important things."

"Hey, I'm just trying to keep the conversation flowing. There's more to this Obadiah thing than just him trying to gain custody of you. As creepy as that is...what's bugging you?"

"I was thinking Disneyland for my birthday. We haven't been in a while."

I felt my dad smile as he kissed my forehead. "Disneyland it is."


	9. Charity Ball

My dad wasn't the only one having trouble sleeping. I knew his was more self induced, but mine was because of the nightmares. They still plagued me, beating me over the head with visions of what could have happened. It only happened on certain nights. Usually nights I spent thinking about my dad, and everything that had changed since he'd come back from Afghanistan. I usually fell into a fitful sleep mid-thought and would wake up a couple hours later from a nightmare. Usually I'd deal with it alone, but occasionally, JARVIS would rat me out.

**3RD POV**

Tony was down in his workshop, working on the suit when JARVIS interrupted him.

"Sir, I hate to interrupt but I detected a disturbance in Miss Skye's room."

Tony looked up from his work. What disturbance?

He took the stairs two at a time and double timed his pace when he heard a pained scream from his daughter's room.

He threw open the bedroom door, scanning the room for any signs of an intruder. When he found none, his eyes went to his daughter's form on the bed. She was tossing and turning, pained whimpers coming from her mouth. Tony turned on the bed side lamp, looking over his daughter.

Her brow was furrowed in a frown and there was a thin layer of sweat on her forehead. He gently put a hand on her shoulder and she flinched away from him.

"No, please don't. " She whimpered, her breathing speeding up.

"Skye." Tony whispered, shaking her arm.

"Don't hurt him."

"Skye." Tony said louder. His heart started racing.

"Daddy." She whimpered. "Don't hurt him, please."

She rolled away from Tony, gripping the sheets. "Daddy...no...daddy!" She sat up so fast it startled Tony.

Her eyes were glazed over and she was looking far away.

"Hey, it's okay." Tony, overcoming his surprise, cupped her cheek, turning her face.

Her eyes came back into focus and she stared at Tony.

"Daddy?" her voice cracked.

"I'm here." He wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head under his chin. "I'm here." He held her until her shaking subsided.

"Will you stay with me?" She whispered, nuzzling her face into his shirt.

He nodded before kicking his shoes off, climbing into her bed, pulling the sheets up around them before Skye laid her head on his chest, the soft hum of his arc reactor lulling her to sleep.

**SKYE POV**

A couple of weeks had passed since the nightmare. I hadn't had one since, which was good, but the insomnia still plagued me. Usually when that happened, I'd go downstairs to find my dad. He was usually in his garage, and I'd make him tell me stories until I fell asleep. I couldn't sleep one night, so I decided to do that. Though, he wasn't anywhere to be seen in the garage so I thought he was upstairs for a change until something crashed through the ceiling onto one of the cars.

Dummy started spraying it with the extinguisher and as far as I could see it was metal.

"Dad?" I said, wondering what on earth was going on.

The thing that was on the car lifted its head and I realized it was some type of robot.

"Skye?" It asked me in a metallic voice that sounded awfully familiar.

"Dad?"I asked, laughing. I couldn't believe this.

The robot climbed off of the now ruined Cobra, and two machines went over it, removing the metal pieces. The face piece came off revealing my dad.

"What are you doing, Dad?" I asked.

He walked over to me,wincing and clutching his head. "Ice first, then an explanation."

He got a bag of ice, placing it on his head before making his way over to where I was sitting, looking at the brown parcel that he hadn't opened yet. It stung a little. I thought things were changing.

He grabbed the mug off the parcel before sitting by me.

He started explaining what he was doing, how he was building a suit and what he was doing with it.

"You're going to get yourself killed." I said. "You'll shoot your eye out."

"Will not. I know what I'm doing."

"It sure looks that way." I said looking over at the Cobra.

''Hey, I just need to make a few adjustments, get used to the feel...'' He trailed off as I stifled a yawn. "Go to bed, Skye." I nodded, yawning again.

I hugged him, kissing his cheek before making my way upstairs and falling onto my bed, my eyes closing immediately.

The next day was spent getting ready for my dad's charity ball that I doubted he would be showing up at. Pepper did my hair and makeup, even picking out the shoes that would go with the dress we went shopping for.

I felt ridiculous as I looked at myself in the mirror. It would be my first time out in public since my dad had come back and I was beyond nervous.

I smiled at the cameras, going inside as fast as possible. There were people everywhere, most I didn't even recognize but they knew who I was. Everyone knows who I am. That what I get for having a billionaire for a father.

I sat down at the bar, putting my head in my hands. I could almost hear the thoughts in people's heads about me. I could feel everyone's eyes on me. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Rough night?" A voice said to my left, startling me from my thoughts.

"Agent Coulson. It's been a while." I said, turning to face the government agent.

"I know. You look good. Better than you did at the press conference."

"You saw...oh. I guess everyone saw that. Well, in my defense my dad had been gone for three months. That kind of stress can take a toll on you."

Agent Coulson smiled. "Indeed it does. I was wondering if your father was here."

"Not yet, if he's even coming. Though he might surprise you. He'll be late if he does show up."

"There's also some things I need to speak to you about."

"Well, my schedule's pretty open, so name a time and a place."

''How about the 24th at 7:00PM at Stark Industries?"

"Sounds good. I'll be there."

"Thank you, Miss Stark."

"Please, call me Skye."

''Alright, Skye."

"I like you, Agent Coulson." I said before walking over to Pepper.

Pepper introduced me to whoever she was talking to, but I didn't pay much attention. I was really hoping my dad would show up.

"I'm going to go mingle." I told Pepper, which translated to, I'm going to go be a wallflower.

I didn't even see my dad come in until he was right in front of me,

"Come on, Skye, lets go dance."

"Dad..."

He pulled me out on the dance floor, slowly swaying to the music.

"You know haven't danced with you since you were a little girl. Since you had to stand on my shoes to dance with me."

"Well, usually at these things you're a little... preoccupied."

"I know. But I've changed."

''Have you?" I tilted my head to the side.

"Yes, I have."

The music stopped and my dad stopped our dancing.

''I have changed." He placed his hands on my arms, looking at my face. ''You look beautiful."

I looked down at my feet which were screaming from standing in high heels for so long.

"Come on. Let's go home."

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders leading me out the door, through the press and to the Audi.

"Night, Skye." My dad said when we entered the house. I could tell something was bothering him as he made his way down to the garage.

I removed my dress and cursed heels, removing all evidence that I even left the house tonight before I fell face down on my bed.

I didn't even know I had fallen asleep until something woke me up. My phone buzzed on my bedside table.

"Hello?" I asked, still half asleep.

_'Hello sweetheart.'_

"Um, who is this?" I asked not recognizing the voice.

_'I thought a daughter would recognize the voice of her own mother.'_


	10. Phone Call

I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. My blood went cold and it was suddenly very hard to breathe.

"You're not my mother. Who are you?"

_'I am your mother. I gave birth to you, I nurtured you until that wretched man took you from me. We could have been so happy together.'_

"You're insane." The waterworks started. "You went crazy. My father sent you away to save your life."

She tsked at me. _'Is that what he told you. Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to listen to the man who's ignored you your whole life.'_

"You're not my mom!" I screamed at her.

_'And you're calling me the insane one.' She chucked darkly, the calmness of her voice scaring the hell out of me. 'It'll be okay sweetheart. Mommy will come and get you and we'll be happy together.'_

"Stay away from me."

_'We'll get rid of that selfish man who took you away from me. The man who dares call to you his daughter.'_

"He's more of a parent than you've ever been! I've never even met you."

_'We'll live happily ever after in a far away kingdom, just you and me. We'll be happy, Skye.'_

"You're crazy!" I screamed at her before blindly throwing my phone. I heard a crash and suddenly glass was raining down on the floor.

I fell to my knees still screaming and crying, shards of glass cutting into my hands and knees, but I didn't care.

The door handle jiggled and I knew JARVIS had alerted my dad as to what was going on. The door flew open and an arm looped around my waist, pulling me from the floor.

"Skye, look at me." I heard my father's voice somewhere off in the distance.

"Why is this happening." I sobbed out.

"Why is what happening?" He asked me.

I couldn't even get an answer out I was sobbing so hard.

"Hey, Skye, breathe. In and out, with me, okay? Okay." He said, sitting me down on my bed. "Just take some deep breaths. In and out." I did what he told me. "Good girl."

"Now, what's happening?" He asked me when my breathing had evened out.

"The phone call. She said it was my mom. But it can't be, right? She's locked up and she can't get to me like she said she would, right?"

His gaze hardened for a moment before it softened again. He pulled me into a hug, but I didn't wrap my arms around him, because now that I had normal blood circulation I became aware of the pain in my hands and knees and the feeling of something warm sliding down my arms and legs. My dad pulled away and looked at my hands before standing up.

"We need to get this glass out." He pulled me to my feet. "Can you walk?" He looked down at my jeans which were now turning red from the blood. "Nope." He said, popping the 'p'.

He scooped me into his arms, carrying me down the hall.

"What-" Pepper jumped to her feet when she saw us.

"Pepper, I need you to call someone to come and clean up some glass and replace a window." He turned to go down the stairs but turned back to Pepper. "And I need you to get a new phone for Skye."

He walked down the stairs, JARVIS opening the door for him. He cleared one of his work tables before setting me down on top of it.

"You stay." He said pointing to me. "Dummy." He motioned the robot over before going over to one of his many first aid kits Pepper had insisted he have down here.

Dummy wheeled over to me and my dad sat in his chair in front of me. "Hands." He said holding his out, a magnifying glass and a pair of tweezers in his fingers. I held them out and he cringed at the sight of them.

"We can always go to a hospital." I said.

"No, we don't need the press labeling me as an abusive father now."

He gave the magnifying glass to Dummy before taking one of my hands in his. He started removing pieces of glass from my hand, having to shift his angle every so often. Once he hit the tweezers against the magnifying glass.

"Oh I'm sorry, am I in your way?" He said to Dummy. I smiled a little, but it didn't last.

Once my hands were done and wrapped he rolled his chair back from me.

"The jeans need to come off." He said, pulling my feet onto his lap.

I unbuttoned them, wiggling them off, my hands shaking a little. 'Oh come on. It's no different than him seeing you in a bikini.' I reasoned with myself. Once the jeans were down towards me knees, my dad took over, pulling them off my legs completely.

He started to work on my knees immediately, his eyes never looking up to my face.

Once my knees were clean and bandaged, my dad excused Dummy before rolling closer to me.

"So what did this woman who claimed to be your mother say to you?"

I told him about the phone conversation, fresh tears rolling down my face.

"Hey, it's okay, she's not going to get you. Your mother's locked up for good and whoever that was is not going to get you. I'm not even sure how she was able to call you. But you're safe, okay?" I nodded, wiping the tears from my face. "Why don't you go get cleaned up. It's late and you need some rest."

I felt like he was keeping something from me. "I can't sleep in my room though."

Realization crossed his face. "Then sleep in mine." He shrugged.

"And daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

He pulled me into a hug, wrapping his arms tightly around me. Little did I know that would be the last time I'd hug him in a while.


	11. Things Change

I holed myself up in my dad's room the next day. I was still a little shaken from the events that transpired the night before, and I was really close to finishing my first year of college, and I really just wanted to get it out of the way. I had the news playing on the background, and I just happened to look up when they were talking about the attack in Gulmira, and the 'training exercise' that had gone wrong just at the same time. How coincidental. It made me wonder...

"JARVIS?" I asked but heard nothing. Unusual. "JARVIS?" I asked again. When he didn't reply, I started to get nervous. Looks like I'll have to do things old-school.

I opened my door and stuck my head out. Something felt off. I walked to the living room only to stop when I heard a voice I didn't want to hear. Obadiah.

I immediately backed to my dad's room, not wanting to turn my back on the living room. I shut the door, having to push a chair in front of it, seeing as JARVIS was currently disabled. I shut myself in the bathroom, grabbing the first thing I saw that I could defend myself with: my curling iron. It was still hot from me using it only minutes ago. I stood there, waiting for the crash.

I wasn't disappointed. The door was forced open, the wood of the chair splintering under the force.

"Come out, come out wherever you are. I'm not going to hurt you, Skye. I just wanna talk." I could hear him nearing the bathroom. I got ready to swing. ''Uncle Obie just wants to ask a favor of you."

The door was pushed open and I swung at the figure in the door.

"Son of a bitch!" I knew I had made contact.

I ran for the door, only to have an arm wrap around my middle, stopping all movement.

A rough hand clamped over my mouth and warm breath tickled my ear. I screamed into the hand, but the sound was muffled.

"Shh it's okay. Uncle Obie's gotcha." My breathing picked up and my heart was pounding against my rib cage as the fear rose in my chest from my stomach. I was starting to hyperventilate. "Oh no, don't do that, you'll pass out. Deep breaths. You don't have any reason to be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you, no I've got better plans for you." There was a prick in my neck and I was out.

I woke up strapped to a chair, in some warehouse. There were various machines hooked up to me and two men in lab coats were bustling around, looking at screens.

"You know, I've been around for a long time, I've seen a lot. I remember when we had your mother in this position."

"My mother?" My voice was hoarse and barely audible but I knew he heard me.

"Yes, we tried this with your mother, but unfortunately there were some...unforeseen side effects. We thought maybe the serum would travel to you in utero, but apparently we were wrong." One of the men brought a case over to Obadiah. He opened it, pulling a vial of reddish-brown liquid out. "This is the serum that drove your mother insane. Her gene pool wasn't quite right to be able to handle the serum, but you, you should be perfect. You've already been exposed to it once and survived. What's going to hurt giving you a direct dosage?" He walked around the chair so he was standing by my head. "Your grandfather wanted to stop production on this, but I couldn't put such a wonder to waste, so I had them secretly fine tune it and finally, after all these years, we're going to see it in action with the right person." He handed it off to one of the men. "But sadly I will have to miss this transformation. No, I will be taking care of Miss Potts." He turned away from me. "Go ahead."

Both men turned to me as Obadiah left.

One set up an IV while the other attached the vial to a syringe.

"Vitals look good." One said.

"She's good to go." The other said.

The one that installed the IV took the syringe, injecting it into the IV.

I didn't feel anything at first, but then I screamed.


	12. The Changing

**3rd POV**

"Tony!" Rhodey called entering the mansion. "Tony!" He called again after there was no response. He figured his best friend would be down in the garage but he was not expecting the sight he found. "Tony!" He called, running over to the man who looked half dead. He rolled Tony over, the man grabbing onto his jacket sleeve. He looked like hell. "You okay?"

"Where's Pepper?" He gasped out.

"She's fine. She's with five agents. They're about to arrest Obadiah."

"That's not going to be enough."

"Is Skye with Pepper?" Rhodey asked as he hauled Tony to his feet.

"Obadiah took her."

"What?" Rhodey shouted as Tony started the process of donning the suit.

"I don't know where she is. There was a tracking device on her phone which is now at the bottom of the Pacific." Rhodey gave him a look. "Long story."

Rhodey watched as the machines put the armor on Tony.

"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen."

"Not bad, huh? Let's do it."

Tony blasted the crushed Cobra out of the way of the hole he fell through just a couple days ago.

"You need me to do anything else?"

"Find my daughter." Tony's face plate locked into place. "And keep the skies clear." He flew off through the hole.

After nearly dying at the hands of Obadiah, Pepper was shaken. But she felt even worse as her phone rang.

_'Pepper, Obadiah took Skye._ ' That was not what she wanted to hear from Rhodey.

"Do you know where she is?"

_'No. I'm headed to Stark Industries now.'_

"Did you find her?" A voice behind Pepper startled her.

She turned to Agent Coulson. "No. Obadiah took her. Brought her here somewhere."

"Agent Barton, Mini Stark has gone missing. Search every crack and crevice until you find her then take necessary action to ensure her safety." Coulson spoke into his ear piece. He turned back to Pepper. "Don't worry, she's in good hands."

Pepper really wanted to believe so.

**SKYE POV**

I burned all over. It was like every cell in my body was on fire. I screamed in pain, not able to hold anything back. I couldn't even cry I was so hot. Then the pain stopped and I was left a sobbing wreck. An icy feeling took the fire's place in my body. It was almost a relief, but it left me shaking. A cold sweat had begun to form as my vision faded in and out.

"It's working." I was vaguely aware of the two men who were still in the room with me.

"I can't believe it."

"We finally found the right-" The man was cut off by a whoosh.

"What the-" There was another and the other man was silent. I heard the thud of bodies hitting the ground.

My heartbeat sped back up, nerves riding high again. Maybe Obadiah had come back for me.

"Skye Stark?" A voice said, a man with short, dirty blonde hair came into view. He had a bow and quiver on his back. "I'm Agent Clint Barton with SHIELD." He started undoing the straps holding down my arms and legs. "You're going to be okay."

"So. They finally changed the name, huh?" I laughed, which sent me into a coughing fit.

There was a metallic taste in my mouth and when I brought my hand back, it was covered in blood.

There was a sound like an explosion above us and the building shook. Agent Barton scooped me up into his arms and ran to what I assumed was the exit. I was very tired and lightheaded and all I wanted to do was sleep. I relaxed into his arms, resting my head against the soft material of his jacket.

**IMIMIMIMIMIMIMIM**

'There have been unconfirmed reports that a robotic prototype malfunctioned and caused damage to the arc reactor.' I woke up hearing Rhodey's voice.

I cracked my eyes open to see I was in a hospital room. There were two men I could see out of the door and the TV was on, showing Rhodey addressing what had happened last night.

'And now, Mr. Stark has prepared a statement. He will not be taking any questions. Thank you.' I could see the cameras flashing as my dad walked to the podium.

'Uh, it's been a while since I was in front of you. I figure I'll stick to the cards this time.' The press laughed. 'There's been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop...'

'I'm sorry, Mr Stark,' the blonde my dad had brought home with him from Vegas interrupted. 'but do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you...'

'I know that it's confusing. It's is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I'm a superhero.'

'I never said you were a superhero.'

'You didn't? Well, good, because that would be outlandish and fantastic. I'm just not the hero type. Clearly. With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public.' My dad was rambling. Rhodey leaned over and whispered something to him. 'Yeah, okay. Yeah... The truth is...' He stared at the blue cards in his hand for a moment before looking up at the camera. '... I am Iron Man.'

I leaned back against my pillow. Dad, what have you done?


	13. Iron Man 2: New Beginning

Waking up with all of the items in your room floating around wasn't exactly normal. I knew something was off about me after the whole incident at Stark Industries but, I never expected it to be this extreme. I didn't know what they had injected me with, or even if it would do anything, since apparently it had no effect the first time. But here I was, sitting in the middle of my room, looking like I was in a zero gravity chamber. Even my bed was floating a couple inches off the ground.

And I couldn't even call for my dad because he was on his way to New York to debut the new Stark Expo.

I calmed down, taking deep breaths and trying to drop everything to the floor. It had been six months since my dad had revealed to the world that he was Iron Man. And it had been six months since this started. I would wake up in the middle of the night with a splitting headache, then wake up in the morning with everything floating around the room.

My birthday had been interesting. My dad had rented out Disneyland and California Adventure for us, meaning we had two days, and no lines. It was nice, but it felt kind of empty. But I guess with my dad's new found fame as Iron Man, we had to be extra careful. Or that's at least what SHIELD had said. I had been debriefed after I was released from the hospital, and I was now on their special list since I now have powers. It was a nice way of them saying they'd be watching me.

I did some Lamaze breathing while rubbing my temples. I could only seem to control it when I was relaxed. It would flare up when I was upset or angry, as my father learned when we were arguing in the garage and the Audi started floating two feet off the ground.

I squeezed my eyes shut and there were various thuds as the items that were floating settled themselves on the floor. My room looked like a tornado had blown through it.

"Miss Potts is requesting your presence in the kitchen, Miss Stark. "

"Thank you, JARVIS." I said, climbing out of bed.

I found my bunny slippers under my lamp then made my way to the kitchen.

"Skye," Pepper was sitting at the table with her coffee, various Web pages open around her. "Your dad's birthday is coming up and I was looking for something to get him."

"How about a new watch?" I said, grabbing myself a cup of coffee and a bagel.

"He has enough watches. I was thinking of something more...sentimental."

"Watches can be sentimental." I sitting next to her.

She gave me a look "What's going on with you, huh?" She closed the pages, turning to face me.

"It's just, things are going back to the way they were before this whole Iron Man thing happened. I'm just scared he's going to forget me again. I'll be playing second fiddle to his billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist, hero act now."

"Hey," She took my hand. "Your father may be an egotistical narcissist, he's still your father. I'm sure if you keep things the way they were, they'll stay that way."

I gave her a halfhearted smile.

**IMIMIMIMIMIMIMIM**

The Stark Expo was just what I had thought it would be. A big blast of my dad's ego.

I was down in the garage, the coverage of the Expo playing in the background. My dad had remodeled the garage after the incident of him falling through the roof. It wasn't so much a garage anymore, as it was a workshop.

I was in my dad's chair, working on my homework. I had decided to study electrical engineering and I was currently having JARVIS teach me how to build an arc reactor like my dad's. I could only do this while he was away because when he was home, he lived down here.

"Miss Potts is approaching." JARVIS alerted me

"Thanks." I said, covering my notes on the reactor with some doodles I had done earlier.

"Skye, I need you to pack a bag and get ready to leave immediately."

"Wait...why?"

She turned to walk away and I grabbed my books, following after her.

"We're catching the red eye to D.C."

"D.C.?"

"Your dad has a hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee."

"So my dad's in trouble."

"Either he is, or he's going to be."


	14. The Senate Hearing

"Mr. Stark, could we pick up where we left off? Mr. Stark please." Senator Stern, (quite an appropriate name) was trying to get my dad's attention while he was talking to Pepper.

'Pay attention.' I mouthed to him.

"Yes dear?" He asked, turning around to face the board again, causing some of the crowd to laugh.

"Can I have your attention?"

'Good luck.' I thought.

"Absolutely."

"Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?"

"I do not."

"You do not."

"Well it depends on how you define the word weapon."

"The Iron Man weapon."

"My device does not fit that description."

"Well how would you describe it?"

"I would describe it by defining it as what it is, Senator.

"As?"

"It's a high-tech prosthesis." The crowd started laughing and I just rolled my eyes.

"That is that is actually the most apt description I can make of it."

"It's a weapon. It's a weapon, Mr. Stark.

"Please, if your priority was actually the well being of American citizens..."

"My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America.

"Well you can forget it. I am Iron Man, the suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution depending on what state you're in." There was laughter from the crowd. "You can't have it."

"Look, I'm no expert..."

"I'm prostitution? Of course not. You're a Senator, come on."

I kinda wanted to throw my shoe at the back of my dad's at head. He better start digging himself out of the hole instead of deeper into it.

"I'm no expert in weapons. We have someone here who is an expert on weapons. I'd now like to call Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor."

Justin Hammer? Oh, my dad better think fast on his feet with this one.

"Let the record reflect that I observed Mr. Hammer enter the chamber and I am wondering if and when any actual expert will also be in attendance." Not what I meant.

Hammer chuckled. "Absolutely. I'm no expert I defer to you, Anthony. You're the wonder boy." What a slimeball. "Senator, if I may. I may well not be an expert but you know who was the expert?" Hammer stood, carrying the mic with him. "Your dad, Howard Stark. Really a father to us all, and to the military-industrial age. Let's just be clear he was no flower child. He was a lion. We all know why we're here. In the last 6 months Anthony Stark has created a sword with untold possibilities. And yet he insists it's a shield. He asks us to trust him as we coward behind it. I wish I were comforted, Anthony. I really do." Pepper had to hold me back from jumping slime ball Hammer right there on the spot. "I'd love to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house, but this ain't Canada. You know, we live in a world of grave threats. Threats that Mr. Stark will not always be able to foresee. Thank you. God bless Iron Man. God bless America."

There was a little applause after his rant before Senator Stern spoke again.

"That is well said Mr. Hammer. The committee would now like to invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber."

"Rhodey?" I said quietly, sitting up straight.

Cameras started flashing as my dad stood up to greet his friend.

"I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon, compiled by Colonel Rhodes. And Colonel, for the record' can you please read page 57, paragraph 4?" Senator Stern said after everyone has taken their seats again.

"You are requesting that I read specific sections from my report, Senator?"

"Yes, sir."

"It was my understanding that I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manner."

"I understand. A lot of things have changed today."

"You do understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the summary of my final-"

"Just read it Colonel. I do. Thank you."

Well, I thought things would turn out better now that Rhodey was here.

"Very well. 'As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and her interest.' I did however go on to summarize that the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh the liabilities and that it would be in our interest..."

"That's enough Colonel."

"...to fold Mr. Stark into the existing chain of command, Senator.

My dad leaned forward to the mic. Here comes another snarky remark. "I'm not a joiner, but I'll consider Secretary of Defense if you ask nice. We can amend the hours a little bit."

"I'd like to go on and show, if I may, the imagery that's connected to your report-"

"I believe it is somewhat premature to reveal these images to the general public at this time."

"With all due respect Colonel, I understand. And And if you could just narrate those for us, we'd we'd be very grateful."

An image popped up on the screen with an arrow pointing to a dot that I could barely see.

"intelligence suggests that the devices seen in these photos are, in fact, attempts at making manned copies of Mr. Stark's suit. This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground, indicating that these suits are quite possibly, at this moment, operational."

I saw my dad messing with his phone and he leaned over to Rhodey, pointing it it at the screen.

"Hold on one second, buddy. Let me see something here." Something popped on thr screen. "Boy I'm good. I commandeered your screens. I need them." He turned to the other screen across the room. "Time for a little transparency. Now let's see what's really going on. If you'll direct your attention to said screens...I believe that's North Korea." A video of a badly made replica of my dad's suit came on the screen.

"Can you turn that off?" Senator Stern said to Hammer. "Take it off."

"Iran." My dad said as another video played. "No grave immediate threat here. Is that Justin Hammer? How did Hammer get in the game?"

I laughed quietly to myself. Poor Hammer. Always coming in second. I felt almost kinda bad for him. Nah, just kidding. I hated his guts.

"Justin you're on TV. Focus up."

Hammer was finally able to turn the TV off after we witnessed the suit do a complete 180 with the pilot inside.

"Yeah, I'd say most countries five, 10 years away. Hammer Industries 20."

"I'd like to point out that that test pilot survived." Justin said.

"I think we're down to the point he's making. I don't think there's any reason-"

"The point is, you're welcome, I guess."

"For what?"

"Because I'm your nuclear deterrent. It's working. We're safe. America is secure. You want my property? You can't have it! But I did you a big favor." My dad stood up and faced the crowd. "I have successfully privatized world peace." My dad flashed peace signs as the crowd applauded, rising to their feet. "What more do you want? I tried to play ball with these ass-clowns!"

My dad gave me a wink as he walked through the crowd, shaking hands as he went.

**IMIMIMIMIMIMIM**

"What did you think of my performance?" My dad asked, sitting in the seat opposite me on his private jet.

"Huh? Oh, it was...it was definitely you."

"What's wrong?" He leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

"Nothing." I looked back out the window.

"C'mon. I know you better than that."

"It's just, you're so...out there, you know? I'm just scared something's gonna happen."

"Nothing's gonna happen. Hey." He squeezed my knee. "You've got Iron Man to protect you. He'll always be there for you." He flashed me a smile before getting up and leaving me.

"That's what I'm afraid of."


	15. New Assistant

"I made Pepper CEO of Stark Industries."

"You did what now?"

"I made Pepper CEO of Stark Industries."

"Yeah, yeah I got that. B-But why?"

"Because she practically does the job anyways and I don't want to do it so why not?"

My dad and I were having one of our secret confession talks. It was where we'd sit in either my closet or his closet and confess some things without any repercussions. But this time, I could tell something was off about him. Way more off than normal, I should say.

"Anything you want to get off your chest?"

I looked down at my hands, playing with a loose string on the sleeve of my shirt.

"No." I said quietly.

"Skye..." My dad said, giving me a look.

"There's nothing I want to tell you."

My dad gave me another look before standing from the floor.

"C'mon, let's go see how many times I can punch Happy in the face before he starts complaining."

"I say it's not going to be long. Especially not with your interest in mixed martial arts."

"Hey, it's effective."

"Whatever. I have homework." I said, grabbing my laptop on the way out the door.

"Oh yeah. How's the business degree coming? Pepper will need a successor you know."

"I know. It's kinda already been decided for me since my last name is Stark." Yeah, I hadn't told him about the change yet.

We were down in the gym, after my dad had convinced Happy to get in the ring. I was trying to understand vector calculus while watching my dad and Happy.

"The notary's here! Can you please come sign the transfer paperwork?" Pepper yelled over over the music, walking into the room.

"I'm on happy time." My dad said, taking a couple swings at Happy.

My dad blocked a shot from Happy before elbowing him in the face. "There it is." I said quietly.

"What the hell was that?"

"It's called mixed martial arts. It's been around for like three weeks."

"It's called dirty boxing. There's nothing new about it."

"I promise you this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company." Pepper said from beside me.

I looked up as a pretty redhead entered. My dad seemed to be rather distracted by her. Typical. Happy hit him in the back of the head lightly to get his attention.

"Lesson one. Never take your eye off the-" my dad kicked Happy in the stomach, sending him into the turnbuckle.

I choked back a laugh. Poor happy.

"What's your name lady?" My dad asked, pointing a gloved hand at the rotary.

"Rushman. Natalie Rushman."

"Front and center. Come into the church."

"No. You're seriously not gonna ask..." Pepper tried to negotiate. I'd seen this many times.

"If it pleases the court, which it does."

"It's no problem." Natalie said.

"I'm sorry. He's very eccentric."

"You can say that again." I murmured.

She climbed in the ring, my dad's eyes never leaving her. They had an Intense staring contest as my dad drank whatever it was he was drinking.

"What?" My dad seemed rather frazzled. "Can you give her a lesson." He asked Happy.

"No problem."

He climbed out of the ring, coming to sit next to Pepper on the chair, crossing his legs exactly like her.

"Who is she?"

"She is from legal. And she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her like that."

"I need a new assistant, boss."

"Yes, and I've got three excellent potential candidates. They're lined up and ready to meet you."

"I don't have time to meet. I need someone someone now. I feel like it's her."

"No, it's not."

"How do I spell your name, Natalie?" My dad yelled.

"R-U-S-H-M-A-N."

My dad clapped his hands and a Google window appeared on the table.

"What are you gonna Google her now?"

"I thought I was ogling her." He flipped through several pages. "Wow. Very impressive. She's fluent in French, Italian, Russian, Latin. Who speaks Latin?"

"No one speaks Latin. It's a dead language. You can read Latin or you can write Latin, but you can't speak Latin.

"Did you model in Tokyo? 'Cause she molded in Tokyo."

"Well..."

"I need her. She's got everything I need."

I watched as Natalie flipped Happy onto the mat. I fought fought the urge to applaud. Maybe having her as my dad's personal assistant wouldn't be so bad after all. I could have her teach me some stuff.

"Happy!" Pepper jumped to her feet.

"That's what I'm talking about." My dad said.

"I just slipped." Happy said, trying to protect his pride.

"You did?"

"Yeah."

"Looks like a TKO to me." My dad said, ringing the bell as Natalie climbed out of the ring, slipping her shoes on.

"I need your impression." Natalie said.

"You have a quiet reserve. I don't know, you have an old soul."

"I meant your fingerprint."

"Right." Oh dad. I shook my head.

"You wanna go a couple rounds Happy? I bet I could beat you now." I said, closing my laptop.

"You think so?"

"Yeah."

He threw me over his shoulder, causing me to squeal a little.

"Break her you buy her, Hogan." My dad said.

"I don't think even with your salary you could afford me." I said.

"You don't think so?"

"Of course. I'm the most expensive thing my dad owns. Just ask him."

"She costs me the most money." My dad said, tossing his gloves back in the ring.

"Do not. You spend more money on yourself than me."

"Do not!" My dad said in a high pitched voice. He went to leave the room but turned back to us. "Oh, and Hogan, she's ticklish on her sides and the the bottoms of her feet."

"No! Traitor!" I squealed and Happy began tickling me.


	16. Grand Prix

Just two days later we were in Monaco, to attend the Grand Prix. I would have been very happy to stay home, but my dad insisted that I go with him and Pepper. I hadn't been out much since the incident at Stark Industries, the constant fear of losing control of my powers kept me inside. And now, about to be in front of millions of people made me nervous. Plus we had a lunch event where we'd be watching the race to go to. That made me even more nervous.

We pulled up to the Hotel de Paris where this "rich and important people" get together was. My dad got out of the car, throwing a peace sign at the screaming crowd before helping me out of the car. I really hate dresses and high heels.

Obviously Pepper was starting to feel the nerves as well as she and my dad were talking.

"You know, it's Europe. Whatever happens the next 20 minutes, just go with it."

"Go with it? Go with what?" Pepper and I were thinking the same thing. Sometimes I wish I got my dad's carefree attitude when it came to the public

"Mr. Stark?" Natalie stepped towards us. "How was your flight?"

"It was excellent. Boy, it's nice to see you."

My dad grabbed the drink being handed to him on a tray. Figures. I looked around the room and saw that I was the youngest person here.

"We have a photographer from the ACM, if you don't mind." A photographer started snapping pictures as Natalie took the drinks from my dad and Pepper. I stepped back into the background, wishing I could become invisible.

I wormed my way around people to the bar.

"Can I just get a glass of ice water or something?" I asked the bartender.

"Sure thing."

I took the glass with a shaky hand, breathing deeply. The last thing I needed was for my "powers" to flare up right now.

My dad and Pepper made their way to the bar arguing about something.

"Anthony, is that you?" I heard a distinct voice over the crowd.

"My least favorite person on Earth." My dad said and I couldn't help the grin that broke out on my face.

"Hey pal." He came over, patting my dad on the shoulder.

"Justin Hammer."

"How are you doing? You're not the only rich guy here with a fancy car. You know Christine Everheart from Vanity Fair." The blonde my dad and brought home from Vegas almost a year ago came over.

"You guys know each other?"

"Yes." Pepper said.

"Yes, roughly."

"BTW big story. The new CEO of Stark Industries." Justin said, pointing at Pepper.

"I know." I could tell Christine was as uncomfortable around Justin Hammer as I was.

"Congratulations."

"My editor will kill me if I don't grab a quote for our Powerful Women issue. Can I?"

"Sure."

"She's actually doing a big spread on me for Vanity Fair. I thought I'd throw her a bone."

"Right." I almost laughed at my dad's face. I could tell he wasn't even paying attention of anything going on.

"Well, she did quite the spread on Tony last year."

"And she wrote an article as well."

"It was very impressive. Very well done."

"Thank you." I could feel the awkward tension building.

"I'm going to go wash." Smart Pepper.

"Don't leave me." My dad said quietly.

"Hey buddy, how you doing?" Justin asked wrapping his arm around my dad's shoulders.

"I'm alright."

"Looking gorgeous." I almost spit out my water.

"Please, this is tough." My dad put his sunglasses on as the cameras started flashing.

"Can I ask you..Is this the first time...that you guys have seen each other..." Poor Christine. Justin just could not keep his mouth shut. "Listen is this the first time since you've seen each other since the Senate-"

"Since he got his contract revoked?" My dad was starting to walk away. He grabbed my arm, pulling me with him.

"Actually it's on hold."

"...when you were attempting to...that's not what I heard. What's the difference between 'hold' and 'cancelled'? The truth?"

"No. The truth is...why don't we put that away." Justin tried to push away Christine's recorder. "The truth is, I'm actually hoping to present something at your Expo." We all sat down at a table.

"Well, if you invent something that works, I'll make sure you get a slot."

"Mr. Stark, your table is ready." Natalie said walking over.

Thank goodness. I was getting tired of this awkward conversation. I sat down next to Pepper while my dad excused himself to the bathroom. I leaned my chin on my hand, letting out a big sigh.

"This will be over before you know it." Pepper said.

"I know. I just don't know why my dad made me come along. He knows I hate these things."

"You're going to have to get used to them if you're going to be CEO someday."

"I know." But I don't want to be CEO.

I looked up at the TV screen to see my dad in a race suit on the track.

"Oh god."

"What?" Pepper looked up from the menu.

"Natalie. Natalie!"

"Yes, Miss Potts?" The redhead rushed over.

"Did you know about this?"

"This is the first I've known of it."

"This...this cannot happen."

"Absolutely. I understand. How can I help you?"

"Where's Happy?"

"He's waiting outside."

"Okay, get him. I need Happy."

"Right away."

"He's lost his mind." I said as the race began.

The cars went rushing past behind us on the track.

"Is that..." I watched as some guy walked out onto the track.

I watched as he unbuttoned his orange jumpsuit which revealed a glowing circle in the middle of his chest that looked almost like...No. It couldn't be. Two long cables extended from his hands, glowing with electricity. He swung at the first car coming towards him, cutting the front clean off, sending it flipping down the track.

"Pepper." I pointed to Happy who was holding the case containing my dad's Iron Man suit. "I'm coming with you."

"No. You stay here."

"But-"

"No. I'm not putting you in danger. Stay here with Natalie. I'll be back.

I walked towards the door of the hotel, wanting to get away from this as quick as possible.

"Skye Stark."

I stopped and groaned inwardly. I slapped a smile on my face before turning to face the voice. "Justin Hammer."

"I just wanted to say congratulations on your decision to study Electrical Engineering. I might have some competition here in the near future."

"Thank you. And who knows, you just might."

He held out a black box. "Just a little congratulations present."

I took it, half expecting it to blow up in my face. Inside was a necklace. A simple silver chain with a diamond pendant hanging in the middle.

"Justin...you didn't have to-"

He held his hand up. "Think of it as a peace offering. Maybe I could give you a personal tour of Hammer Industries some time. Show you what goes on behind the scenes."

"I'll have to look at my schedule. Thank you again, Justin."

I turned and walked away, trying to shake up the creepy feeling crawling down my spine.


	17. Slippery Slope

I tried to get some sleep on the plane ride back to California, but nothing was working. I kept having strange dreams, but they almost felt like visions. I'd wake up shaky and cold, trying to get a grip on reality, but I still felt like I was in a dream. I couldn't even tell if the hand in front of my face was real, or just an illusion from the dream world.

"Hey, you okay?" My dad asked, bringing me to some form of sense.

"Yeah." I said, sitting up, rubbing my eyes. "Just can't sleep well."

"Yeah, me either." He moved to sit on the side of the bed.

"You never sleep well."

"I'm a busy man."

"Yeah, saving the world, constantly upgrading your high tech prosthesis." He smiled a little. "And being incredibly stupid, racing in the Grand Prix and almost dying."

He gave me a look, but didn't say anything. He knew, deep down that I was right. A lot of people knew that I was right.

"Get some sleep. We're not far from home." He patted my leg before getting up and leaving the cabin. Yeah, there was definitely something wrong with him.

I tried to ignore the news when we got back from Monaco. I took on my dad's solution to his problems and locked myself in my room. I was still seething from the fact that my dad would actually do something so stupid...and my skin was still crawling from my confrontation with Justin Hammer.

My dad's birthday was tonight and I was less than excited. It was just another excuse for him to get drunk and make a fool of himself in front of everyone and their dog.

"Skye?" A knock sounded at my door. "Can we just talk?"

I opened my door, peeking my head out. My dad looked like hell. I stepped out of my room, closing my door and leaning against it. We stared at each other for a moment.

"Well?" asked, crossing my arms. "You're the one who wanted to talk."

"Look, Skye...I know what I did was stupid-"

"Most of what you've done is stupid."

"I don't like you speaking to me that way. I'm your father. Start showing me some respect!"

"Then start acting like you deserve it! You act like a child then pretend like you actually want to take some responsibility when it comes to raising me. A good father wouldn't put himself in situations where he could be killed! A real father would have raised me without being drunk all the time! Sometimes I wish it was you who was locked away instead of my mom!" I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth. I opened my door, backing into my room. "Just go away."

I shut my door, leaning against it.

"Skye." I heard my dad's voice on the other side.

"Go away!" I screamed, seething with anger.

There was a flash of pain in my head and suddenly things were flying around my room. My skin was almost burning I was so mad.

I ran to the bathroom, climbing into the shower, letting the freezing water run over my skin. I heard several crashes from my room and knew everything that had been flying once again had hit the floor. No doubt they had heard that one downstairs.

I climbed out of the shower, towel drying my hair and slipping out of my wet clothes. I pulled on my robe, knowing I'd have to grin and bear the birthday party. I mean, how would that look to the press: daughter doesn't attend dad's birthday party. Yeah, that would sit well.

"Miss Stark?" There was a soft knock on the door.

I quickly tried to put everything that was on the floor somewhere before answering the door.

"Yes?"

"I was just wondering if you would like some help with your hair for tonight?" Natalie asked me.

I smiled at the redhead. "That would be great."

I sat down at my vanity in the bathroom while Natalie went to work on my damp rats nest.

Soon my hair was neatly curled, falling down my back and I had a small amount of makeup on, mostly to hide the dark circles under my eyes.

"Thank you, Natalie."

"Anytime, Miss Stark." For some reason, hearing my last name made me sick to my stomach.

I pulled the dress I was going to wear out of my closet, slipping on my shoes. I stood in front of my mirror as I took the necklace Justin gave me out of its box. I slipped it around my neck, noticing how it seemed to glint in the light no matter where I stood. I put on my best smile and made my way downstairs where the guests were already beginning to arrive.

...

Justin Hammer smiled at the computer screen.

"Sir, what's our next move?"

"I want Skye Stark. I want her here and I want her crying for her daddy."

"Why the girl?"

"She's the key. We get Skye, we get Iron Man. It's all part of the plan, gentlemen." He turned back to the screen, staring at the red dot. "All part of the plan."


	18. Mistake After Mistake

I stared at my dad, fully dressed in the Iron Man suit, drunk off his ass, dancing in front of everyone else who was drunk. I felt ashamed to call him my father at that moment. I had spent my entire childhood like this (minus the Iron Man suit of course), and I had began to think things were changing. I shook my head, about ready to leave when I felt someone come up behind me.

"I don't know what to do." Pepper said.

"You gotta be kidding me." Oh good. Rhodey was here too.

I watched as my dad fell over, breaking the glasses on the wall behind him as the crowd cheered him on.

"That's it. I'm making..." Rhodey went to walk away.

"No, no, no. Don't call anyone." Pepper pleaded.

"This is ridiculous. I just stuck my neck out for this guy."

"I know. I know. I get it. I'm gonna handle it, okay? Just let me handle it."

"Handle it, or I'm gonna have to."

"You know, the question I get asked most often is 'Tony, how do you go to the bathroom in the suit?'" My dad closed his eyes for a second. "Just like that."

Pepper walked up on stage, taking the Mic from my dad. "Does this guy know how to throw a party or what?" The crowd cheered as my dad saluted them." Unbelievable. Thank you so much. Tony, we all thank you for such a wonderful night. And we're gonna say goodnight now, and thank you all for coming."

"No, no, no we can't...wait, wait, wait." Pepper lowered the Mic and they shared a few words before she handed my dad the Mic. "Pepper Potts." My dad said, making his way down the stairs. "She's right. The party's over. Then again, the party was over for me like, an hour and a half ago. The after party starts, in 15 minutes." I could feel Rhodey tense next to me. "And if anybody, Pepper, doesn't like it, there's the door." My dad pointed, his blaster going off, shattering the glass waterfall. Pepper looked over at Rhodey and I desperately.

One of the girls in the crowd threw a bottle up in the air and my dad blasted it. Rhodey pulled me behind him as glass went everywhere.

He placed a hand on my shoulder before hurrying down the stairs to the garage.

"Rhodey!" I followed him, running as fast as I could in heels.

"Skye, I need you to leave. This could get ugly."

"I know. It will. I had already planned on it. I can't do this anymore."

"Where will you go?"

"The condo in New York City. It's the safest place I could go."

He nodded. "Be careful. If you need anything, call me."

I nodded and climbed into my dad's Saleen S7 as Rhodey put on the War Machine Armor.

He nodded to me as I drove away from the house and to the airport.

**IMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIM**

"She's gone, sir."

"What do you mean gone?"

"She disappeared from the party last night. None of our agents saw her leave.

Nick Fury sighed. He couldn't have made his point clearer to them. 'Don't let Skye Stark out of your sight.' That's what he'd told them.

"Get an agent in every major city in the U.S. I want eyes on every security camera in every building in every city. We need to find her. Now."

"What do we tell Stark?" Natasha asked.

"We tell him we have her in a safe place and that she's well taken care of. He needs to fix himself first.

**IMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIM**

I figured New York would be the safest place for me. Eight million people all condensed into one area, and yet, I proved to be wrong again. I had been wrong a lot lately. Maybe it was just the stress of everything that had happened over the past couple weeks, or maybe it was the serum. Ever since I was injected, things had been happening. I was losing touch with reality. Sometimes I didn't know if I was awake, or still asleep. Nothing felt real. Well, that wasn't true. Seeing my dad, drunk off his ass, peeing in the Iron Man suit, that felt real. That was the realest thing that had happened since Monaco. And sometimes that didn't even feel real. The only reason I knew it was, was because of the necklace. If it wasn't for that, I would have thought I'd imagined the whole thing.

Going to New York just proved to be another mistake, like thinking my dad had changed. He'd been acting weird, and then I find him drunk again. I spent my entire childhood, watching him get beyond drunk, and I really thought that had changed. I thought he'd started to actually care. But he didn't. He was just turning into the man he was before. And that's where I knew something was wrong.

I didn't have a clue what it was. He could be dying for all I know. That's the answer that made the most sense. Why he was risking his life, getting drunk, making stupid decisions. Why he was so tired and snippy lately. Maybe it was all because he was dying. And I was too blind to see that.

Did I make the right decision, leaving Malibu? Would I ever see him again? Was he already dead? What had happened after the party? I had read on TMZ that he and Rhodey had duked it out, but I didn't know the outcome. I knew Rhodey wouldn't kill him, but that didn't mean whatever was killing him hadn't already. I felt a little guilty for leaving like that, but I knew I had to. I couldn't stay with him like that. It brought back too many memories. But I still felt like it was a mistake. Like coming to New York was.

I hadn't even been in New York 24 hours and I was already running for my life. I had noticed them following me when I had gone out to get some dinner. I knew I should have ordered in, but I had felt a little adventurous, and now I was realizing that was a mistake. Another mistake I'd made in the past 48 hours. I could hear two pairs of feet behind me and they were gaining quickly. Man I needed to run more. I was running on adrenaline as I sprinted down an alley. I didn't make it far before a hand grabbed my coat, pulling me backwards. I slammed into a body, a very large male by the feel of it. His hand clamped over my mouth before I could make a sound. There was a prick on my neck and I was out.

**IMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIM**

I was being jostled around when I came to. My hands were cuffed behind my back and by the distinct swaying feeling I knew I was being carried. I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to make any signs of being awake just yet.

"Good, good. You found her." My stomach knotted at that voice.

I was, rather rudely, dropped on the floor, a groan escaping me when my shoulder made contact with the tile.

"That's no way to treat our guest." I opened my eyes to see for myself. "Take her handcuffs off. We want her to be as comfortable as possible."

"Hammer." I groaned out. "How did you find me?"

He squatted down by my head. "It was simple really. A little deception and some technology."

"Stupid." I whispered, scolding myself as he held up the necklace. "What do you want from me?"

"What do I want from you? Nothing. You're doing your part by just being here." He motioned to the two guards behind me. "Now, I want to introduce you to a good friend of mine. A buddy who's been helping me out." The guards hauled me to my feet, dragging me along behind Hammer as he made his way across the warehouse. I was getting really tired of being dragged around, though I was't sure I could walk by myself.

Justin came to a stop in front of one of the doors, unlocking it before going in, two of the guards following him. The one holding me stayed outside, both of us facing the door. My heart was pounding. I didn't want to know what was behind that door, or what Justin had planned. I was terrified, wishing then I'd stayed in Malibu with my dad. I held back the tears, knowing there was probably no way my dad could save me from what was waiting behind that door.


	19. Ivan Vanko

Justin came back out a few moments later, looking rather pissed. I gulped, knowing I could very well be going to my death here. Or worse.

"What's the matter?" Justin said, squatting down so he was looking me in the eye. "Wanting your daddy? Well, he's not here. He's not here to save you, and he won't be. I'm going to tear your father's reputation apart, and send him running with his tail between his legs. And you can watch the whole thing with my good friend Mr. Vanko."

He stood up, nodding to the guard who dragged me towards the room before tossing me in. It took me a second before I shook off the dizzy spell from hitting the floor. I looked up, my heart jumping in my throat. I scooted back into the farthest corner that I could. I could barely see him over the table covered in various metal pieces, but I knew he could see me. I knew the two guards left in the room would do nothing to protect me from him. That wasn't why they were there. His dark eyes pierced right into my soul. I swallowed the nervous lump in my throat, trying to calm myself down as I sat across from the man who tried to kill my father. It was silent in the room for a while, the only sound I could hear was my heart pounding in my ears. I was so nervous, I almost hadn't realized he'd asked me something.

"Why are you scared?"

I swallowed my nerves, trying to keep my voice from shaking. "Maybe because you tried to kill my father."

"What makes you think I want to kill you?"

"Usually that's how these things work. You couldn't kill my father, but you have the next best thing sitting across the room from you. You have his weak spot offered up on a silver platter."

He chuckled darkly, not moving from his spot on the bed. "Whatever Justin Hammer expects me to do to you...that's not the plan."

"I didn't really think you would be the kind of guy who followed someone else's plan."

He chuckled again. "You were right. My plan is entirely different." He stood from the bed, giving me a better look at him.

"I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing." I said, squishing myself farther into the corner as he walked towards me.

"For you," He squatted down in front of me. "It's a bad thing." He grabbed my chin in his hand, and I tried to jerk away from him, but his grip was like iron. I knew I'd probably have bruises there later. If I lived that long. "Now, close your eyes."

I did as he said, not looking when he disappeared, knowing if he told me to close my eyes, it was for a good reason. I heard the sound of a struggle as well as someone getting hit and then it was quiet. Far too quiet. I heard footsteps approaching, but I refused to open my eyes, hoping if I kept them closed, I'd wake up from this terrible nightmare.

A hand tangled in my hair, yanking me to my feet. I yelped, my eyes flying open, landing on the two guards hanging from the ceiling, wires wrapped around their necks. The drug I'd been injected with had somewhat worn off, but yet I could barely get my feet under me with the way he was holding me. He tossed me to the floor, squatting down next to me before pulling back one of the tiles on the floor, hooking a phone up to various wires. I finally looked up at him, noticing he had a bird on his shoulder now. It would have been a funny sight, had I not possibly be in the hands of who could be my killer. He pulled me up so I was sitting on my knees next to him before he handed me the phone.

"Call your father."

I took the phone, dialing his number with shaky fingers. I didn't know if he'd answer or not, hopefully he'd let it keep ringing. Ivan took the phone from me, bringing it to his ear, keeping his other hand on the back of my neck, making his point very clear. I wasn't going anywhere. I prayed that my dad wouldn't answer, but that prayer wasn't answered.

"Hey, Tony, how you doing?" Ivan said, chuckling. "I double cycled." It was silent for a second. "You told me double cycle's more power. Good advice." It was silent again. "You too." He chuckled. "Now, the true history of Stark name will be written. What your father did to my family over 40 years, I will do to you in 40 minutes." I gulped. "Starting with your daughter."

He pulled me closer to him by my hair, putting the phone to my ear. I whined a little in pain as he tugged harder on my hair. "Dad?" I gasped out.

'Skye.' I hated how defeated he sounded then. 'I'm so sorry.'

"I know."

'Everything's going to be okay. Daddy's going to come and get you, and we're going to take a long vacation.'

Ivan pulled the phone away from my ear. "I'm going to tear your family apart, just like you did mine. I hope you're ready." Ivan hung up the phone, tossing it in the hole in the floor. "I spent some time in Kopeisk, you know." He said, still holding me close to him by my hair. "There's an initiation they like to do." He pulled me up, dragging me towards a chair in the corner.

He sat me down, turning to grab a couple cables. I tried to struggle away from him while he tied my wrists to the arms of the chair, but all I got was a slap to the face, so hard I was tasting blood when I turned back to face him.

He took my left hand in his, straightening out my fingers. "They like to break fingers one by _one_ ," I screamed as he snapped my pinky finger in his hand. "See how long it takes before you break. If it's one, or _two_." He snapped my left ring finger, making me cry out again. I was breaking before he even broke the first finger. He broke another two before he stopped. "I'll finish you later." He said before turning to the computer in the corner.

I was a shaking mess. Tears were falling down my cheeks as I tried to be strong. Everything in my body was telling me to move, but every small movement I made send searing pain through my hand. Ivan was typing away at the computer, paying no mind to me. If I could just slip out of the wires, I could maybe escape without being seen, but they were tied tight, almost to the point of cutting off circulation. Whenever I moved, the wires would cut into my skin, leaving my wrists red and raw by the time Ivan turned back to me, getting up out of his chair. He pulled a knife out of his pocket and my heartbeat skyrocketed. Was this it? Was he going to kill me now? Just do me in like that? This was not how I pictured dying. I flinched away, waiting for the slow, painful death waiting for me.

But it never came.

The wires were cut from my wrists and I was yanked out of the chair by my shirt, Ivan dragging me out of the room and deeper into the building. I was terrified, not knowing what was going to happen. Was he taking me some place he could kill me and no one would find my body? I began to panic, thinking the last thing I'd said to my dad was tell him to go away after a fight. Would he know I really loved him? That I wasn't mad at him? That I didn't hate him? Would he even find a body to bury?

Ivan opened a door deep in the facility, pushing me in, my hands instinctively reaching out to soften the fall, crippling pain shooting up my arm when my broken fingers hit the floor. Mistake number 572 of today. I heard the familiar whirring of machines and looked up to see a giant replica of the Iron Man armor. Oh god. I was so screwed.


	20. Falling

I was just barely hanging on to the suit by a thread, scared out of my mind. Would he drop me and I'd fall to my death? Was that why he brought me along? Or was there some other sinister plot happening? This was not what I had in mind when I thought of flying for the first time. Even with the wind whipping in my face, I could see where we were headed.

The Stark Expo was eerily empty and in shambles. A part of me didn't want to know what had happened, knowing it would not be good. The suit flew down into the Oracle Pavilion, landing in the botanical garden. It still held me in its hand, the metal fingers one flinch away from crushing my clavicle, shoulders, and quite possibly break my neck as well. The face plate lifted up, revealing Ivan as I stared at the two suits in front of me. For a moment I thought I was seeing double, dizzy from the pain I was in, but the two different colors had me convinced I wasn't.

"Good to be back." Ivan said.

"This ain't gonna be good." The silver one said, sounding an awful lot like Rhodey.

"Skye." My dad's face plate lifted up, revealing his worried face. "Let her go. She has nothing to do with this."

"No, she has everything to do with it. I could have killed her first, but I thought it would be better if she watched you die first."

Ivan threw me forward and I landed in the water at my dad's feet. I winced, trying to ignore the pain from my hand as I clutched it to my chest. I turned as two electrified whips appeared at the suits hands. Oh boy.

"Skye, get back." My dad said, his face plate moving back in place. He didn't have to tell me twice.

I ran back behind the bridge, dodging metal droids as I went. I hid behind a tree, peeking out from behind it so I could see what was happening.

"I got something special for this guy." The suit that sounded like Rhodey said. "I'm gonna bust his bunker with the Ex-Wife."

The suit stepped forward, one of the shoulder plates opening up, a small missile appearing. It flew forward, hitting Ivan's suit before dropping to the ground, fizzing out in the water.

"Hammer tech?" My dad asked.

"Yeah."

Ivan laughed, stepping forward a little.

"I got this." My dad said, shooting at Ivan, but his face plate closed just in time.

Ivan moved forward, circling the whips a couple times before whipping them at the other two suits. The one I figured out was Rhodey fired at the suit, but Ivan cut the machine gun off his shoulder. My dad flew up into the air, shooting at Ivan, but got whipped back down to the ground, hitting a rock. I knew I probably should have ran out of there, but the door was on the opposite side of the garden, and it would be a long trip around to get there, but something was telling me to stay where I was. Rhodey shot at Ivan while my dad flew at him, only to get thrown back further into the garden.

Ivan caught Rhodey's suit around the neck, pulling him forward, only to punch him, sending him flying back. My dad leapt into the air, punching Ivan's suit in the head. He continued punching the suit, only to get headbutted back. One of the whips wrapped around his neck, while Rhodey started shooting at him. Ivan stepped forward, stomping down on Rhodey's suit, but he was pulled back by my dad. The other whip wrapped around Rhodey's neck, both of them trying to get closer to each other.

"Rhodes, I've got an idea." I heard my dad say over the crackling of the electricity. "You want to be a hero?"

"What?"

"I could really use a sidekick. Put your hand up." My dad, said holding his hand up.

"This is your idea?"

"Yep."

Rhodey put his hand up and I started running, the sound of the repulsors loading getting louder. I dove behind a rock just seconds before there was an explosion, the glass of the dome shattering. I covered my face as it rained down, the garden eerily quiet. I could hear the whirring of the suits as my dad and Rhodey got up. I started moving towards them, but stopped as the suits around me started beeping. That was never good.

"All these drones are rigged to blow. We gotta get out of here, man." Rhodey said.

"Skye?" My dad called. "Pepper?"

I ran forward, Rhodey wrapping one of his metal arms around me before both of them took off into the sky. I held on for dear life to Rhodey as he flew up and away from the Expo. I heard the explosions over the rush of the air around me. I momentarily forgot about the pain I was in as I got lost in the air rushing around me.

"Hey." Rhodey said, the metal voice vibrating in my ear as he landed on a rooftop. "Stay with me, here." He set me down on my feet and I held on for a moment, trying to get my bearings. "You okay?" He asked, his face plate moving so I could see his real face.

"Yeah." I nodded, but I knew he could see through the lie. "When'd you get the suit?"

He had opened his mouth to answer when my dad and Pepper landed on the roof, not far from us. My dad ripped his mask off, the Ironman suit looking like it had gone through a trash compactor.

"Oh my god! I can't take this anymore!" Pepper yelled.

"You can't?"

"I can't take this."

"Look at me."

"My body, literally, cannot handle the stress. I never know if you're gonna kill yourself or wreck the whole company."

"I think I did okay."

"I quit. I'm resigning. That's it."

"What did you say? You're done? That's surprising. No, it's not surprising. I get it. You don't have to make any excuses."

"I'm...I'm...I'm not making any excuses."

"You actually were just making excuses. But you don't have to."

"No, I wasn't making an excuse. I'm actually very justified."

They began getting closer and closer to each other.

"Listen. Hey, hey. You deserve better."

"Well..."

"You've taken such good care of me. Of Skye. I've been in a tough spot, but you got me through it so...right?"

"Thank you."

"Yeah."

"Thank you for understanding."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's talk clean-up."

"I'll handle the transition. It'll be smooth."

"Okay. What about the press? Because you only had the job for a week. That gonna seem..."

"Well, with you it's like dog years."

"I'll know."

"I mean, it's like the Presidency..."

My dad cut Pepper off by kissing her.

"Ew." I whispered.

They pulled away slowly.

"Weird." My dad said.

"No, it's not weird."

"It's okay, right?"

"Yeah."

"Run that by me again."

They leaned in for another kiss.

"It's think it was weird." Rhodey said. Thank goodness for Rhodey. They pulled apart, looking at us. "You guys look like two seals fighting over a grape."

"It's had just quit, actually."

"Yeah, so we're not..."

"You don't have to do that. We heard the whole thing."

"You should get lost." My dad pointed to Rhodey.

"It's was here first. Get a roof."

"It's thought you were out of one-liners?"

"That's the last one."

"You kicked ass back there, by the way."

"Thank you. You too. Listen, my car got taken out in the explosion, so I'm gonna have to hang on to your suit for a minute, okay?"

"Not okay. Not okay with that."

"It wasn't a question." Rhodey blasted off into the sky, leaving the three of us on the roof.

"How are you gonna resign if I don't accept?" My dad asked.

Pepper shook her head and my dad turned to me. I couldn't bring myself to look at him so I settled with looking at the suddenly interesting rooftop."Will you excuse us, Pepper?"

My dad's clinking steps came closer to me until I was staring at the metal boots of the Ironman suit.

"Skye..."

I felt like I was looking through a tunnel. I might have been hallucinating, but it felt so real. My dad's voice calling my name was drowned out as a ringing filled my ears. Stars appeared behind his head as I looked up at his face, galaxies and stars beyond imagine filled the space behind him. I felt my legs give out from under me, but I was floating. Gravity had no hold on me as I drifted off into the stars.

"He's falling. The sky is falling." I heard my voice float around me as I drifted off into the stars.


	21. Waking Up

**3RD POV**

Tony wanted to say so many things as he looked at his daughter standing a few feet from him. She glanced at him for a moment, before looking down at the rooftop. She refused to look at him, even when he was a few feet from her. 

“Skye, look at me.” 

Her head slowly lifted, her face coming into view. He took a step back as she looked him in the eyes, her chocolate brown eyes were now bright blue, a distant look on her face. Her skin was pale, almost white. 

“Skye?” He took her face in his hands carefully, but she continued to look past him. “Skye, look at me.” 

“Tony?” He heard pepper behind him. 

Her legs gave out from under her and Tony carefully caught her, holding her up in his arms. Skye began shivering, the air around her going cold. Tony could see their breaths in the air, the cold biting at the exposed skin of his face. 

“H-he-he’s falling.” She gasped out, her shivers almost becoming convulsions. 

“Skye, who’s falling?”

She looked right at him, her eyes back to their normal color. “The sky is falling.” 

Her eyes rolled back into her head and she went limp in his arms. The temperature around them went back to normal. He picked her up, turning back around to Pepper, who was staring at him in shock. 

“What?” 

“What the hell was that?” 

“I wish I knew.” Tony said, looking back down at Skye.

“It looked like a rainbow.” 

Tony’s head snapped towards Pepper, eyeing her carefully. “What did you just say?” 

**SKYE POV**

I knew where I was before I even opened my eyes. There was an EKG beeping beside me and a TV was playing in the background. The overly sanitary scent of the hospital met my nose and I crinkled it in disgust.

“I know. The smell gets old after a while.” A voice to my right said. 

I cracked my eyes open, blinking against the bright lights for a second before I turned my head, seeing my dad leaning against the railing of the bed.  

“Dad?” I winced at how hoarse my voice was. 

“Hey sweetheart.” I tried to move but found my wrists and ankles were cuffed to the rails on the bed. “I didn’t want to do it, but the doctors had no other choice. You were fighting them too much. They were scared you’d end up hurting yourself more, so they had to restrain you. You kept screaming, so they had to keep sedating you.” 

I looked away from him, staring up at the ceiling. “What day is it?” 

“June 4th. You’ve been out for four days.” It had felt like five minutes to me. “I’m sorry this happened to you. I’m sorry a lot of things happened. Sometimes I think back, and I wonder if revealing my identity was a good idea. I’ve put you and Pepper in danger. You’ve been kidnapped, had horrible things happen to you. I just...I don’t know what I was thinking.” 

“It’s okay.” I said, looking at my splinted fingers. “Sure, it was a stupid decision, but how many kids can say their parents are really a superhero.” 

It was silent between us for a moment. “Skye, what do you remember?” 

I thought back, four days ago when I thought I was going to die. “I remember the Oracle Pavilion, Rhodey, you and Pepper, the rooftop...then I was floating. I don’t know what happened, it just came on all of a sudden. I was floating through space.” 

“Do you remember what you said?” 

I thought back, but I couldn’t remember much. “You told me ‘he’s falling.’ Then you looked at me and said ‘the sky is falling.’ Then you just collapsed. Do you know who was falling?” 

I thought about it. I didn’t even remember saying it, let alone why I did. I shook my head. “No. I-I can’t...” Tears pooled in my eyes. Was I going crazy like my mom? Would he lock me up too? Various instruments started shaking, the EKG picking up as my heart rate spiked. 

“Hey.” He stood up, smoothing the hair away from my face. “Look at me, Skye.” I turned my head so I was looking up into his soft brown eyes. “You’re not crazy. You’re not losing your mind. You were injected with a serum that contained god knows what, okay? JARVIS is working on trying to break down the chemical components, see if we can’t figure out what we did, and then see if we can fix it. Or at least get to the point where you can control it. I’m not going to lock you up somewhere. As soon as the doctor says you can go, I’m going to take you to New York with me where I’m working on the blueprint for the tower, and you can help me. We’ll get through this together.” 

“You’re building a tower?” 

“Yeah. Pepper’s doing an interview on it in a few days, and when the doctors kick me out every night, I’ve been working on the blueprint and an improved suit for Rhodey.” 

“How did he get that suit anyways?”

My dad told me about what happened at the birthday party after I’d left, and after that with SHIELD and how Natalie Rushman was actually Natasha Romanov and a SHIELD agent, how he’d been dying, and built a new arc reactor, and created a new element, and became a consultant for SHIELD.

“So I pretty much missed everything exciting.” 

“Pretty much.” He said, leaning back in his chair. 

We stared at each other for a while. He had circles under his eyes, which was becoming a normal thing for him. His hair was a little disheveled and his clothes were wrinkled. It looked like he’d been here for a while. A small smile crept on to his face. 

“What?” I asked. 

“Nothing. You just remind me of your mother is all. Well, when I first met her. Not when she went crazy.” He eyed the restraints for a moment as I raised an eyebrow at him. “You know what? I’m going to go find a doctor and get you out of here.” 

I just shook my head in his direction as he left the room, noticing the two men outside the door. The hospital was probably crawling with police and SHIELD agents. This was my new life. My new powers and constantly being watched by SHIELD now that my dad kind of worked for them. Kind of. But my dad didn’t really like working for anyone. He wasn’t really a follower. Or one to take orders. Unless they were from Pepper. I was happy they were together now. I loved Pepper and I knew she’d be good for my dad. She’s put up with him this far. I don’t know what my dad would do without Pepper. I don’t know what I’d do without Pepper. I knew this would be a start to a beautiful relationship. If my didn’t mess it up. 


	22. Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will kind of start pre-Avengers, but I'll skip over a lot of details to get to the main story here. Things are going to get a little more graphic from this point on. I've kind of been sugar coating compared to what I originally had planned to turn this story into, but I'm just gonna drop that sugar coating here. If you don't like that, then there's the door. No one's forcing you to read it. Don't complain to me if you don't like it. It's not like it's required reading. It's explicit for a reason. Sorry, I had to get that off my chest. But I'm just giving a warning, that after this point, the explicit rating is really going to come into play. So if you're an innocent bunny, you may want to turn back now. If not, then come along for the ride.

I knew my dad was hiding something from me. Even after I'd been released from the hospital, and my dad and I went to New York City to the penthouse. There was something he wasn't telling me. And I wanted to find out what it was. But I wasn't going to pry. He was already watching me closely. I knew the only time he didn't have JARVIS keeping the security cameras on me was when I was in the bathroom, or when I was changing. I knew he was constantly having JARVIS do diagnostic tests on me, usually without my knowledge until they're already done. I didn't know whether to be happy that he was actually paying attention to me, or a little mad because of the invasion of my privacy. I liked that he was worried, it showed he actually was changing and just wasn't going to get drunk and not care, but it was also a little tiring.

I hadn't had an incident like the one on the roof since that one. Mostly, it came in the form of nightmares. I'd float off into space, like I had on the roof, but this time I'd fall. I'd be falling through space, almost feeling like I'd be there forever, but then I'd freeze. It'd be so cold, I'd wake up freezing, no matter the temperature of my room. It chilled me right to the core. Even my blood seems to run cold. I was always terrified, and I never wanted to know what it would mean. Tonight was just like the others.

I shot up in bed, sweat pouring off my skin, my heart thumping like I'd just run a marathon. I pulled the covers back with shaky hands, sliding out of bed and out of my room. I padded down the hallway to the kitchen, not surprised to find the light on. My dad sat at the counter, a file laid out in front of him.

"Hey, kid." He said as I grabbed a glass off the shelf, filing it with water. "Bad dream?"

"Yeah."

"C'mere." He pushed the file away, sliding the stool farther from the counter. He pulled me onto his knee like he used to do when I was younger. "Tell me about the dream."

"I'm falling. I can feel the wind whipping around me, then suddenly I'm submerged in ice. I keep hearing this voice say 'I found you' over and over. And there's these eyes, these blue eyes that keep begging me to help them. But I can't move. I'm frozen." My dad nodded his head, deep in thought. "It happens every night. I don't know what to do."

"Here." My dad handed me his glass of scotch.

"Dad-"

"Don't worry, it'll put you right to sleep. I won't tell Pepper anything."

I brought the glass to my lips, taking a sip of the strong liquid. It left a burning trail down my throat as I swallowed.

"Aren't you supposed to be discouraging me from drinking?"

"You need it more than I do. Plus, I'm Tony Stark. I don't discourage much."

"That's true."

I took another sip of the burning liquid, wincing as it tore a fiery path down my throat. I placed the now almost empty glass on the counter, leaning on my dad's shoulder. He leaned his head against mine for a second before scooping me up and taking me back to my room.

He tucked me in, kissing my forehead before slipping out the door.

I closed my eyes, rolling onto my side. The scotch was starting to numb me as I slowly drifted off.

Before I knew it, I was falling again.


	23. The Avengers: Life In New York

_I was falling again, only this time, I could see. Stars surrounded me, along with what looked like pieces of glass. I didn't know how long I'd been falling but suddenly, the air around me got cold. My back hit something hard and suddenly I was frozen. I couldn't move a single muscle. I gazed at the stars above me. There were so many of them. I blinked and the blue eyes were in front of me again, begging me._

_'Skye.' A smooth, melodic voice whispered. 'Skye.'_

"Skye!" I snapped out of my daze.

"Huh?"

"No clocking out on me here." My dad said, landing in front of me. "How's it looking?"

I looked down at the blueprint in front of me. My eyes were seeing, but my brain was not comprehending. I was so tired. I'd been so long since I'd-

"When was the last time you got a good night's sleep?" My dad thudded forward in the Iron Man suit, cupping my face in his metal-clad hands. He looked at the dark circles under my eyes that I had tried so hard to hide, but I was just so tired. "Pepper?"

"Yes?"

"Tell the boys to take a lunch break. I'm taking Skye back to the penthouse."

"Dad-"

"No. I can't have you on a construction sight half asleep."

His mask closed and he took off into the sky, me in his arms. As the wind whipped past us, I thought back to my dream. They had become more and more real as they went on.

My dad landed on the roof, removing the Iron Man suit before escorting me downstairs. He sat me down on the couch before going to the kitchen to pour me a glass of scotch. This had almost become a routine now, though it didn't do much to help with the dreams.

My dad knelt in front of me, kissing my forehead. "You don't have a fever and you're not sick. You can't go without sleep and expect to be able to function."

"I know, but the dreams…"

"Look, I'll send you back to Malibu, set up an appointment with your doctor and see what's going on, okay?"

"You've never made an appointment with my doctor."

"I'll have Pepper make an appointment."

"I don't want to go to Malibu. I want to stay here with you."

"I know. But I only want what's best for you. And I think this would be best. I'll send Happy back with you. Give him something to do. Pepper will be back and forth, you'll be fine." He pulled me into a hug. "Now, get some sleep. Call me if anything blows up."

I did as he said, curling back up in my bed, the glass of Scotch on my bedside table. I quickly felt myself falling asleep. It was almost like I was being pulled into sleep.

_I was falling again, the stars surrounding me, galaxies a light year away surrounding me. I closed my eyes, relaxing as I floated through the stars, gently coming to rest on the meteor-like planet. I felt the cold creep up on me, sinking into my pores. But this time, something different happened. It took me a second, but I realized that it wasn't just the cold that I felt._

_Hands were touching me. Cold hands were running up my arms towards my shoulders. Warm breath fanned over my face, a body leaning over mine._

' _Skye.' The voice whispered, the hands sliding down my arms now. 'Skye, look at me.'_

_I opened my eyes, meeting the familiar blue eyes I'd seen so many times._

' _You're here.' I whispered, wanting to reach out and touch his face, but I couldn't._

_There were deep circles under his eyes, like he hadn't slept in weeks, but his eyes were no less bright._

' _Yes. And so are you.' He said, moving his hand to cup my face, leaning down so his nose bumped against mine. His other hand moved to my waist, slipping under my shirt, splaying out over my stomach. A shiver racked through me at the contact._

' _I don't even know your name.' I breathed as his lips hovered over mine._

' _You will soon.' He said, straightening up so he was looking down on me again. His hand slid down my cheek, his long fingers wrapping around my neck, not squeezing, but using just enough force to let me know he could very well break me right there. 'We will be seeing each other very soon.' He whispered, pressing a kiss on the underside of my chin before he disappeared, everything fading to black._

I shot up in bed, breathing hard. It was the first time I'd seen his whole face in my sleep. Usually I just saw his eyes, pleading, asking me to help him. He seemed pretty fine in that dream, though. Maybe he didn't need saved anymore. And what did he mean 'we will be seeing each other very soon?' I didn't know if that was a good thing, or a bad thing? And why had I just lay there and let him touch me like that. It was so intimate, so...almost loving. I didn't even know him, for goodness sake. It was only a dream. Wasn't it? I looked at the clock on my nightstand, brushing the hair out of my face. I'd only been asleep for an hour and a half. I felt groggy still, like I could just roll over and sleep until tomorrow morning.

The penthouse was still silent, meaning my dad and Pepper were still working on the tower. I know my dad would have worked well into the night, but Pepper would make him return to the penthouse before then. She'd probably call it a day around dinner time, which meant I had about three hours before they'd be back. I totally could have snuck out and gone shopping, had JARVIS not been rigged to tell my dad my every little move. I could always try to hack him, but if I failed, my dad would know right away. Stupid AI. I could just always leave, but my dad would end up making a big scene, and we'd be on the cover of every magazine known to man, as well as every talk show on TV, and I really didn't want that. But I did need to get out.

I picked up my phone, dialing my dad's number. It rang a couple times before he answered.

' _Skye.'_

"Hey, dad. Question."

' _Answer.'_

"Can I go out and go shopping?"

_'Why?'_

"I need to get out of the penthouse, and I want to go shopping."

_'I don't want you going anywhere by yourself. Give us a couple hours, then we can go out to dinner tonight.'_

I groaned. "But I don't want to wait another couple hours. I want to go now."

_'Did you sleep?'_

"An hour and a half or so."

_'That's not nearly enough. Sleep more and then I'll decide.'_

"I won't be alone. I'll take Happy with me."

_'Skye, sleep. Then we'll see.'_

The line clicked as he hung up.

I groaned, falling back onto my pillows dramatically. He never let me have any fun anymore. A year ago he would have let me go without me having to ask. Now he had to go with me everywhere. I mean, I get it. He's a superhero. He as enemies who want to hurt him. But that doesn't mean he has to be breathing down my neck every time we go outside. I sighed, putting my phone back on the nightstand before grabbing the Scotch. I chugged the glass, wincing as it went down before staring at the ceiling, waiting for the alcohol to kick in. It shouldn't take that long. Then maybe I could get some sleep and not dream of the mystery man that I was supposedly seeing very soon. It was just a dream. There wasn't any possibility that I would actually be meeting a figment of my imagination, was there? Was he a figment of my imagination? Or were they really some type of visions of the future and I was going to fall in love with a guy who apparently is getting tortured. Oh look, the alcohol is starting to kick in.

I rolled over on my side, my eyes drooping before I fell back asleep, not sure what I was going to see as I drifted off into dreamland.


	24. Back To Malibu

I was not happy. My dad had been serious about sending me back to Malibu, so here I sat on his private jet, flying across the country from New York to California, to the new and improved Stark Mansion. My dad and I had celebrated my birthday and Christmas in New York, then he thought I should head back for the New Year, and despite the fact I was an adult now, I had no choice but to go. Happy, my new babysitter, sat across from me, flipping through some tabloid magazine. I tried to avoid those at all costs.

"Miss Potts set up an appointment for you on Tuesday."

"Hmm." I kept my gaze locked to the clouds.

"Look at it this way, would you rather have nightmares every night or sleep peacefully?"

"He's going to think I'm crazy and lock me in a loony-bin like my mother."

"No one's going to lock you up. And you're not crazy. With everything you've been through, I'm surprised this hasn't started sooner."

I finally looked at Happy. He gave me a small smile, picking his magazine back up from his lap.

Maybe he was right. Maybe this was just a result of everything that had happened.

...

Tuesday I found myself in the back of the Rolls, being taken to my doctor to see if there was anything he could do to help me sleep at night.

I made Happy sit in the waiting room and wait for me. He looked out of place in his suit and tie among jeans and t-shirts. I almost laughed at the sight.

I sat on the uncomfortable bed, the paper crinkling under me as I waited for the doctor to come in.

It seemed like I had read every poster on the wall twice before he finally came in.

"So tell me, Skye, what seems to be the matter?"

"I can't sleep. I keep having this vivid dream over and over every time I sleep. It keeps getting more and more real every time I close my eyes. Sometimes I don’t know if I’m awake or asleep."

"Recurring dreams are often a sign of PTSD. I'm no expert when it comes to Psychological health so I'm going to refer you to a specialist, but I've made a list of some natural remedies you can do to help sleep at night. I'm going to do some lab tests as well, look for any abnormalities that may be the cause."

After I had my blood drawn and I'd done a urine test, the doctor handed me a paper full of at home remedies and a phone number. I thanked him, going back out to the waiting room, where Happy sat, nose deep in a magazine.

"Come on, Hogan."

He held his finger up and I just rolled my eyes, heading outside to the Rolls.

Happy came out a few seconds later, opening my door for me.

As we headed back home, I read over the phone number so many times I knew it backwards. I had half a mind not to call, but what would it hurt?

"He's sending me to a specialist. He thinks the dream is the result of PTSD after everything that's happened...of course he did lab work...how's the tower coming?"

Here I sat, talking to my dad on the phone after I got home from the doctor. I was still upset about being stuck in Malibu with nothing to do while he was in New York.

'How have the dreams been?'

"They're getting more and more vivid. If this specialist can't do anything for me, then...I don't know what I'm going to do."

'Hey. You've got nothing to worry about. You're not your mother. Just remember that.'

"I know."

_ I was back on the meteor, but this time, things were different. I could move, and it wasn’t cold like it normally was. I looked around me, checking to see if anyone is there, but I was alone. Or at least I thought I was.  _

_ ‘Who are you?’ A voice asked from behind me.  _

_ I spun around, my heart pounding in my chest. There was a large figure in the shadows, far taller than any human I’d ever seen. I stumbled back as he stepped forward, his face coming into the light. His skin looked purple in the light, his bright blue eyes boring into my face. He was massive, towering over me by at least two feet. He was wearing gold armor which only gave his air of authority a boost.  _

_ ‘What are you doing here?’ He asked me, staring down at me with a bored look.  _

_ ‘I-I d-don’t know.’ I stuttered out, fear freezing me to my spot. ‘I-I’m asleep. I t-think. T-this is just a dream, i-isn’t it?’  _

_ ‘A dream?’ He straightened up a little, tilting his head. ‘What is your name, child?’  _

_ ‘S-Skye.’  _

_ ‘Skye.’ He said, looking down at me curiously. ‘And where do you hail from, Skye?’ _

_ ‘Uhm, well,’ I glanced at the stars around me. ‘Earth, you could say. Unless you want specifics.’  _

_ The giant walked around me and I slowly turned, my eyes following him. He took a seat on a floating throne, still looking down at me.  _

_ ‘An Earthling? I don’t think that’s entirely true.’  _

_ ‘I-I don’t know what you mean.’  _

_ He regarded me with a curious eye. ‘Perhaps you do not know.’ He leaned back on his throne. ‘Well, then, I will not say anymore about that.’  _

_ ‘W-who are you? I-if you don’t mind me asking, of course.’ I said.  _

_ ‘I am Thanos.’  _

_ ‘Like the god?’ I asked, then snapped my mouth shut. Stupid inquisitiveness.  _

_ ‘The Mad Titan, some call me. You have met one of my servants. He as been appearing to you in your sleep, just as I am now. I felt your presence here, and he refused to give me answers. So I came looking myself.’  _

_ ‘So you’re saying this is real? I’m not actually dreaming?’ _

_ ‘Your body is asleep, but your mind is awake, travelling great distances, through time and space. You are very interesting, little Earthling. I will be keeping my eye on you. I fear our time together is being cut rather short, but we will be seeing each other again very soon, Skye.’  _

 


	25. Stuttgart

I had never been so thankful in my life. Even in my dream I was thankful.

No, the dream was pretty much the same, but it just ended differently. Instead of being frozen, looking at the blue eyes, I was pulled out. Warmth enveloped me as my world got lighter.

_‘Ma'am?’ A calm voice asked me. ‘Are you alright?’_

_I cracked my eyes open, only to be met by blue eyes again. Only, these eyes were different. Instead of being the icy blue of the man on the meteor, they were bright blue, like the American flag._

I shot up in bed, my heart beating erratically. Who was he? Now I had even more questions about my dreams. So I found myself sitting in the waiting room of Dr. Smith, Clinical Psychiatrist. I was reading an article about bipolar disorder, trying to keep my hands from shaking. Hopefully he wouldn't think I was crazy and lock me up.

I about had a heart attack and died when his door opened.

"Miss Stark, I am Dr. Smith. Pleased to meet you."

I stood up, shaking his hand. He didn't look anything like a psychiatrist. He looked more like a football player. We walked into his office which was full of books and leather furniture. "Please, have a seat."

The leather chair was more comfortable than I thought. He sat across from me, pulling out a file.

"Your doctor told me you were having recurrent dreams."

"Yes."

"And he thought it might be a symptom of PTSD. He had mentioned you've been through quite the...ordeal over the past year. Why don't you tell me everything that's happened."

So I did. I started at the beginning when my dad disappeared clear to a couple months ago when I had the fit on the rooftop and ended up in the hospital. He just sat there, nodding his head and occasionally writing on his notepad. When I finished, he looked back over his notes for a second.

"Well, you have been through an ordeal. Your doctor sent over your lab results and they found traces of phencyclidine in your blood."

"What's that?"

"PCP. A hallucinogenic drug.”

"What?"

"Your memories of being in Hammer Industries are rather scrambled, some blurry to you. This leads me to believe most of what you experienced on the rooftop was a hallucination. Which explains, in part, the dreams. Your mind's defence to everything that's happened. Your doctor was right when he linked it to PTSD. I'm going to prescribe you some sleeping pills. It'll take a day or so for them to really work but they should put you in a deep enough REM state that you won't dream." He wrote something on a piece of paper before handing it to me. "If the dreams don't stop within a week, call me and we'll try a different route."

He stood up and led me out of the office.

"Remember, give it a week or so."

"Yes, thank you."

I went out to the Rolls, climbing in the back.

"Where to now?"

"Walgreens." I pulled out my beanie, slipping it on my head. I didn't need to be noticed right now.

**......**

It had been a week and a day now. The sleeping pills put me to sleep, but they did nothing for the dream. I was beginning to think Thanos had been right. Which meant he really was real. He said my body was asleep, but my mind was awake, and travelling places. I didn’t think the therapist could help with that. That might get me in a loony-bin in a room next to my mother.

My dad had almost finished Stark Tower, all that was left was setting up the arc reactor and actually getting it to run correctly. On the other hand, I had received, well more like my dad had received an invitation to a gala in Stuttgart in a couple days. I had tried calling him, but he chose now to completely ignore his phone. So I decided to take matters into my own hands, as I usually had to in times like these. I had made arrangements to fly commercially to Germany to attend the gala on behalf of my absent father.

On the flight, I made the mistake of falling asleep. It seemed like my dreams were really happening now.

_This time in the dream, my mystery icy blue-eyed man was in pain._

_How did I know this?_

_He was being tortured. This was the first time I'd ever seen all of him. He was tall, lanky, yet there was an air of strength around him. His hair was black and slicked back down his neck. His skin was pale, almost white. He was staring right at me, jaw clenched, his eyes screaming in pain. He was being tortured...at least on the inside._

I jolted in my seat, a fine layer of sweat covering my brow. That was the most real my dream had been, and the first time I'd ever seen the rest of the blue eyed man.

I wondered why I had woken up, only to realize we were landing in Stuttgart.

I taxied my way to my hotel, hopping in the shower before getting ready for the gala.

As I finished my makeup and adjusted my dress, I had little idea how exciting this night was going to get.

......  
  


From where I stood while the curator gave his speech, I could see him come down the stairs. I tried not to stare at him because I could feel something off about him. Something almost familiar as well. 

As he neared the bottom of the stairs, one of the guards tried to stop him, but the man whacked him in the face with his cane, drawing the crowds attention to him. He grabbed the curator, dragging him to a piece of art shaped like a lion in the middle of the room before flipping him onto the top. He then took a piece of equipment and began, what looked like, digging out his eyeball. The crowd began running and screaming but I stayed where I was, knowing going outside would be the worst idea.

I watched as the man strode calmly outside, his suit melting away to gold armor, a helmet with horns on the top adorning his head. His cane grew to a wicked looking staff. I followed slowly behind him, outside to the panic ridden streets. I hid behind one of the flower pots near the entrance, was watching as a blue light shot out of the staff, flipping the oncoming police car.

The man seemed to multiply and surround a crowd of people, trapping them in a circle.

"I said, kneel!" The man shouted and everyone dropped to their knees on the pavement. I knew making a run for it would just draw attention to myself and that was the last thing I needed to do right now, so I stayed put. He began walking among the crowd of kneeling people. "Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy, a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

One brave man stood up, turning to the psychopathic man.

"Not to men like you."

"There are no men like me."

"There are always men like you."

The psychotic one lifted his spear. "Look to your elder, people. Let him be an example."

I held my breath, knowing the older man was going to die.

But something jumped in front of him, blocking the blast, sending it right back to the psychotic man. I watched as a man wearing red white and blue with a shield stood up. I knew immediately who he was.

Captain America.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing."

I knew that voice. Oh god, I had dreamed of Captain America. But I thought he was dead...

"The soldier. The man out of time."

The psychotic man got back to his feet. "I'm not the one who's out of time."

A jet suddenly flew into the square, a gun dropping out of the bottom.

"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down." A female voice said.

Loki. So that was the guys name.

Loki shot at the jet but it avoided the blast and Captian America threw his shield at Loki. The crowd dispersed as the two went at it. I knew could've run at that moment. I could've made it back to the hotel safely, but I was transfixed by watching Loki and Captain America fight.

I had just got it in me to make a run for it when Shoot to Thrill began to play. I stopped in my tracks.

My dad flew out of the sky, blasting Loki back into the stairs before landing on the ground, leaving a small crater in the brick. Always one to make a big entrance.

He held his hands up, several types of blasters popping out of his armor.

"Make your move, Reindeer Games." Loki held his hands up, his armor disappearing. "Good move."

I walked closer to my dad and Captain America.

"Mr. Stark."

"Captain."

"Dad?"

  
  



	26. Man of My Dreams

His metal head turned to me as Captain America led Loki to the jet. Both glanced back at me but I was to focused on my dad to really notice.

"Skye? What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same question, but you're supposed to be here at the gala. You got an invitation a couple days ago but you didn't answer your phone so I had to cover for you again." I stepped closer to him.

His mask slid up, revealing his face. He did not look happy.

"First off, don't talk to me like that. Second, you're supposed to be in Malibu with Happy. Thirdly, did it ever occur to you that you could've declined?"

"And say what?"

"I was busy doing other stuff. I don't know, made up something. Instead you snuck off without my permission. Now get your stuff and head back to Malibu. We'll talk when I get back."

I crossed my arms. "No."

"No? Excuse me?"

"Stark!" A familiar redhead walked out of the jet. "Fury wants her to come! She's already seen too much!"

I gave him a satisfied smirk.

"We're not done." He grabbed my arm, all but dragging me to the jet.

He pulled me in, sitting me across from Loki, strapping me in.

"Am I your prisoner now, too?"

I could almost hear Loki's smirk.

"Captain." I nodded to the soldier.

"Ma'am." He nodded back, confusion clear on his face.

I looked across at Loki, finally getting a good look at him. My stomach clenched, my blood suddenly running cold as I stared at him. His icy blue eyes stared back at me, the same icy blue as in my dreams. He couldn't be...but he looked just like him. His eyes trailed up and down my form before they settled on my face again, his head tilting to the side as he frowned a little. I quickly looked away from him, focusing on the floor of the jet, trying to calm my racing heart.

It was silent in the jet as we flew to god knows where. I didn't have a clue what was going on, except that the guy I'd been dreaming about for months was real and wanted to take over the Earth, and apparently Captain America was still alive. And, even though I was 18, I was still subject to be treated like a child by my dad. Maybe he was just trying to make up for all the years he missed out on parenting.

"Is he saying anything?" Director Fury's voice came over the radio.

"Not a word." Natasha said.

"Just get him here. We're low on time."

I could feel Loki's eyes burning into me. I wanted desperately to look back up at him, take in every detail of his face, the face I'd been seeing in my dreams for over a year, but I kept my eyes glued to the floor of the jet.

"I don't like it." Captain Rogers said. He was standing by me and I had a lovely view of his backside, but my dad's angry glare and Loki's curious stare kept my eyes where they were.

"What, Rock of Ages giving up so easily."

"I don't remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallop."

"Still you are pretty spry for an older fellow. What's your thing, Pilates?" I rolled my eyes, leaning back in my seat. Here we go.

"What?"

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple things doing time as a capsicle."

I could feel the air grow tenser and tenser as my dad's rude behavior began to shine through.

"Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you."

Lightning flashed overhead and thunder rumbled.

"Where's this coming from?" Natasha asked.

Loki's eyes finally left me as he looked at the lightning flashing outside.

"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightening?" Captain Rogers asked.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows." Chills erupted over my skin at that voice. Wait- I shouldn't be thinking that.

There was a thud on the roof, rocking the jet. I didn't like where this was going. My dad grabbed his helmet before opening the hatch.

"What are you doing?" Captain Rogers yelled at my dad.

Someone landed on the hatch door and began walking towards my dad. Loki looked terrified, the same look on his face that he'd had in my dreams.

My dad loaded his blaster but was thrown back by the new guys giant hammer, right into Captain Rogers. The giant blonde man grabbed Loki before flying out of the jet.

My dad groaned, standing up. "And now there's that guy." He walked towards the open hatch. "Skye, stay."

"Not a problem on this one."

"Another Asgardian?" Natasha yelled over the rushing wind.

"That guy's a friendly?"

"Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost."

"Stark, we need a plan of attack."

"I have a plan. Attack." My dad jumped out of the jet.

"I'd sit this one out Cap." Natasha yelled.

"I don't see how I can."

"These guys come from legend. They're basically gods."

"There's only one god, ma'am. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." Cap grabbed his shield before jumping from the plane. I don't think I'd ever been so attracted to anyone in my life.

Natasha found a place to land on the rocky mountainside, not far from where Loki was standing on the mountainside. I could see his form illuminated by the moon as my dad took off into the air. I unbuckled the straps, heading out of the open hatch towards Loki. His eyes were elsewhere, so hopefully I could get up to him, without him noticing. I vaguely heard Natasha calling after me, but I ignored her, on a mission of my own. I wanted answers, and I knew this would be the only time I could get them without anyone else listening in.


	27. The Helicarrier

“They fight like such ruffians.” Loki said as I neared him. His eyes were off in the distance, but he knew I was there. 

I leaned against a rock not far from where he sat. Climbing a mountain in a dress and heels, not smart. 

“I happen to know one of those ruffians, thank you very much.” I said, moving away from the rock as he stood, taking a step closer to me. 

“Yes, the metal man.” 

“Iron Man, technically.” I said, placing a finger up as he stepped even closer to me. “Actually it’s not even made of iron, but that’s what the press came up with, and I guess he just went with it.” 

He reached forward, placing a finger over my lips, ceasing my nervous rambling. His single touch sent shivers down my spine. His hand was freezing cold, and not just because of the cool night air on the mountainside. There was something else, some underlying source of the cold.

“Do you always speak so much?” 

I looked up at his eyes for a second, looking down at his finger again before cautiously wrapping my hand around his wrist, moving his finger from my mouth. 

“Only when I’m nervous.” I wanted to slap myself. 

“I make you nervous? Why? We’ve met before.” 

“You invaded my dreams.” I went to step back from him, but he used my proximity to his advantage, gripping my wrist in his steel grip. 

“You sought me out. And oh was I glad you did.” He spun me around so my back was against his chest, my breathing picking up as I looked out over the trees. “You remember how this felt.” He breathed against my ear, his grip on my arm tightening as his other hand ran up my shoulder to my neck. He leaned in closer, his lips centimeters from my jaw. “You were so willing then.” 

I jerked out of his grasp, taking a step back. “But little did I know the man who invaded my dreams was a psychopathic killer who wants to take over Earth.” 

“So intuitive.” He said, moving to take a step forward, but I held up my hand. He froze, looking down at his feet for a moment. He tried to move forward, but it was like his lower body was stuck. “That’s interesting.” He said, looking back up at me. “You are so like your mother.” 

I faltered a little at that statement. And because there was an explosion across the forest that rocked the ground a little. 

“My mother? What do you know of my mother?”

“Oh, I know her very well.” 

“You lie.” I took an angry step forward. 

He laughed. “I am the god of mischief and lies, darling.” 

There was a familiar whirring sound, and then a metal clank as my dad landed behind me. 

“Skye, I thought I told you to stay in the jet.” 

“You did. But what was I supposed to do? Just sit there and wait for Loki to get away?” I said, glaring at the god in front of me. 

I sulked back to the jet, not even having to be told to sit down. But at least this time, my dad didn’t strap me in. He knelt down in front of me as the tall blonde I didn’t know pushed Loki back into his seat. 

“Are you okay?” He asked, his metal hands running over my face, checking for any signs of injuries. 

“I’m fine.” I said. “Dad, seriously. I’m fine.” I brushed his hands away from me. 

I felt eyes on me, but I ignored everyone in the jet, curling up in my seat instead. There was just something about Loki that really pissed me off. I felt it even just being around him. Or maybe it was just the testosterone in the jet. Yeah, that could have been it. 

We finally got to our destination the next morning, landing on what looked like a giant floating aircraft carrier. I removed my heels, my feet tired from my trek up and down the mountain, plus having to stand at the gala. 

“Freya, is that you?” I stopped when I heard a voice behind me. 

I turned around, seeing the tall blonde man approaching me.

“Uh, sorry, no. I don’t know who that is.” 

He looked almost disappointed. “My apologies. You look just like someone I used to know.” He straightened up a little. “Thor, son of Odin.” He bowed a little to me. 

“The thunder god.” I said, smiling a little. He tilted his head, a confused look on his face. “Oh, I-uh, I read books.” I cleared my throat. “Skye, daughter of Tony Stark.” 

“It is an honor, Lady Stark.” He said, kissing my knuckles. I smiled a little. 

“It’s an honor to meet you too, Thor.” 

“Skye.” My dad said, coming over towards Thor and I. “I need to speak with you. Now.” 

I smiled apologetically at Thor, who nodded his understanding before he disappeared and I followed my dad. My dad had removed his Iron Man armor and was now standing with his arms crossed, staring at me.

"Skye, I am so disappointed in you."

I scoffed. "Disappointed? You don't even know the meaning got that word. No one's ever been disappointed in you. But you know what? People have been disappointed in me since the day I was born. I'm not a genius, I'm not a social butterfly, I'm nothing like you and you know what? People are disappointed by that. But if anyone should be disappointed, it should be me."

"Don't you speak to me like that, Skye!"

"Stop treating me like a little kid! I'm 18, dad. I'm old enough to start making my own decisions."

"What? You’re not 18. You’re only like...16 or something."

"This is why I'm disappointed." I shook my head. "You're turning into your old self again."

I started walking away but he grabbed my arm.

"Don't you walk away from me."

"You took me out to dinner in New York with Pepper. You rented out a whole restaurant. I thought you would at least remember that."

The door opened and Agent Coulson appeared. "Sorry to interrupt, but I've got to show you to your rooms."

"We're not done here." My father said.

"No. We're finished." I turned and walked towards Agent Coulson. "Agent Coulson, always nice to see you."

"You too, Miss Stark. Though I much prefer these circumstances than the first."

"I never got to thank you for the birthday card. It's always nice to be remembered."

We stopped in front of two doors.

"Mr. Stark," He pointed to one. "We had an agent retrieve your items from Stuttgart, Miss Stark."

"Thank you, Agent Coulson."

"Please, call me Phil."

I smiled before closing the door to change my clothes. I was glad to get out of my dress and high heels. I changed into a long-sleeved v-neck shirt, jeans and converse, pulling my hair out of the bun I'd had it in, letting it fall around my shoulders.

I left my room to find my dad talking to Agent Coulson about Portland. We began walking as they talked...well, my dad doing most of the talking as usual. I stayed a few steps behind them, trying to memorize my way around the labyrinth of hallways. We were getting closer to voices and as we turned the corner, I could see the back of Natasha's head and Thor standing by a table.

"Iridium...what do they need the iridium for?"

"It's a stabilizing agent." My dad said, breaking into their conversation. "I'm just saying, pick a weekend. I'll fly you to Portland. Keep love alive." I followed Agent Coulson, trying to keep to the background as much as possible as my dad kept talking. "It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD." My dad walked by Thor. "No hard feelings Point Break. You've got a mean swing." He slapped Thor's massive bicep. "Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants. Raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails." I groaned, almost face palming. He would say something embarrassing. "That man is playing Galaga. Thought we wouldn't note, but we did." My dad covered his eye, looking at the screens in front of him. "How does Fury even see these?"

"He turns." The female agent standing to the side said.

"Sounds exhausting. The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a powerhouse of high-energy density. Something to kickstart the cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" The female agent asked.

"Last night. The packet. Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers? Am I the only one who did the reading?"

"Does Loki need any particular power source?" Captain Rogers asked, interrupting my dad.

"He would have to heat the cube to 120 million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." The man who had been pacing by me said.

"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect."

"Well if he could do that he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet."

"Finally someone who speaks English." My dad said, walking over to the man.

"Is that what just happened?" Captain Rogers asked. A grin lifted the side of my mouth. That's how I felt sometimes.

"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on anti-electron collision is unparalleled." Did my dad just compliment someone? "And I'm a huge fan of how you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster." Spoke too soon.

"Thanks."

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him." Director Fury said, walking into the room.

"I could start with that stick of his, It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

"Monkey's? I do not understand." Thor said.

"I do." Captain Rogers said. A full blown smile had grown on my face now. "I understood that reference." He was getting cuter and cuter by the second.

"Shall we play, Doctor?" My dad asked.

"This way, sir." My dad and Dr. Banner left the room. I had half a mind to follow when I thought better of it. 

I went back to my room, but stopped when something came to mind. What Thor had called me. I thought back to the first time I’d met my mother. 

_ “Sarah.”  One of the doctors had said as my dad and I entered the room where she was being kept. She was standing in the corner of the padded, windowless room. She looked frail, like she could break at any second. _

_ “That’s not my name.” She grit out, her fists clenching at her sides as she turned, finally, to face us. “That’s not my name!” She said, looking between the orderlies and the doctor before her eyes finally landed on me. _

_ She looked like the picture I had of her, but skinnier. Her cheeks were more hollowed out and she was paler. Like she hadn’t seen the sun in a while, and her hair wasn’t neatly combed like it had been in the picture.  _

_ Her eyes were wide as she stared at me, her voice just barely a whisper. “My name is Freya.”  _

  
  



	28. The Truth and Conspiricies

I made my way through the maze of hallways, looking for where Thor could be. I was so curious I didn’t care that I was lost and had no clue how to get back to where I was needing to go. I had questions that needed answering. Desperately. 

“Thor!” I finally ran into him in the hallway. “I think I might know Freya.” 

He pulled me aside, into a room filled with crates of god knows what. 

“How is that possible?” 

“My mom was given a serum filled full of god knows what and it basically drove her mad while she was pregnant with me. But, when my dad and I went to visit her a couple months ago, she refused to be called by the name my dad knew her by. She said her name was Freya.” Thor frowned a little. “But, while she was pregnant with me, my dad said she’d have fits and get nightmares where she’d say she was falling, and she’d talk about a rainbow bridge, and-” I was cut off when Thor hugged me. Well, more like picked me up and squished me against his chest. 

“I knew it had to be true.” He murmured before setting me back down on my feet. “Where is she now? Is she alright?” 

“I-uh, she’s in a hospital. Some scientists did an experiment on her and she lost her mind. She’s in the safest place she could be right now.” Thor looked sad at those words. “Can I ask what this all means?” 

Thor gently took my elbow, leading me over to one of the crates. He sat down and I sat down next to him. 

“Freya was my sister. My brother, Loki, got into some trouble with our father, Odin, and Freya took the fall for him. Odin banished her into the bifrost, wiping her memories of who and what she was. Odin forbade us from looking for her, and I always wondered what had happened after she fell. And now I know.” He smiled down at me. 

“So, let me get this clear. My mother was an Asgardian goddess, and your sister? So you’re my uncle?” 

“Yes.” Thor said, his smile widening. 

“Wow.” I sighed, leaning back against the crate behind me. I looked down at my hands. “That explains why I have powers.” I murmured. 

“Powers?” Thor asked. 

“Yeah, I was injected with the same serum my mother was, and it gave me powers.” 

“Or just unlocked them in your mind.” I gave him a confused look. “You could have had those powers all your life. You are half Asgardian. The serum could have just brought those powers forward, freeing them from where they were suppressed in your mind.” 

I nodded, trying to process everything that had been said. “It’s a lot to take in.” I said. 

“Indeed.” 

“I should probably go find my dad. I obviously need to talk to him about some stuff.” 

“Be careful. Don’t let this get to Loki. Who knows what he would do with this information.” 

I nodded. “Not a peep.” 

The door to the lab slid open and I stepped inside. Dr. Banner was running a scanner over Loki's spear while my dad, who had changed into more comfortable clothing, was across the room from him.

"Skye. Come to yell at me-" I wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his chest. "Hey." He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry." I whispered. "For everything."

He moved back slowly, me still attached to him until I was sitting on a stool. He gently pulled away from me, having to peel my hands from his shirt.

"I need to work, hun. But we'll talk later, okay?" He brushed some of my hair from my face. I nodded in reply.

Dr. Banner who had been silent through our conversation spoke up. "The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports of the Tesseract. But it's going to take weeks to process."

"If we bypass their mainframe and direct route to the Homer cluster, we can clock this at around 600 teraflops."

I furrowed my brow and mouthed 'what?' They might as week have been speaking a different language.

"All I packed was a toothbrush." Dr. Banner laughed.

"You know you should come by Stark Tower sometime. Top ten floors, all R&D. You'd love it. It's candyland." My dad picked up something from one of the tables.

"Thanks, but the last time I was in New York, I kind of broke Harlem."

"Well I promise a stress free environment. No tension, no surprises."

He zapped Dr. Banner with the item he'd picked up off the table, causing Dr. Banner to cry out.

"Hey." Another voice called out.

"Nothing?" My dad asked, staring intently at Dr. Banner.

"Are you nuts?" Captain Rogers asked, walking into the lab, still in his suit, which showed off his muscles nicely.

"Jury's out." My dad said, making Dr. Banner laugh. "You really have a lid on it, don't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?"

"Is everything a joke to you?"

"Funny things are."

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny. No offense, doc."

"It's alright. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things."

I was pulled from my daydream about Captain Rogers' backside by my stomach growling lightly. I slid off the stool, knowing my dad would have food somewhere. I found a bag of blueberries and made my way over to the three men gathered around Loki's spear.

"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark." Captain Rogers said. I could feel his eyes on me for a second as I walked past him.

"Do you think I'm not?"

There was a sharp pain in my side and I jumped, letting out a squeak as my dad zapped me with the stick. I slapped his arm, having to refrain from sending a few things flying his direction.

"Why did Fury call us in?" My dad continued to speak to Captain Rogers as he grabbed the blueberries from my hand. "Why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us. I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables."

"You think Fury's hiding something?"

"He's a spy. Captain, he's 'the' spy. His secrets have secrets. It's bugging him too, isn't it?"

We all looked to Dr. Banner. "Uh...I just want to finish my work here, and..."

"Doctor?"

"'A warm light for all mankind.' Loki's jab at Fury about the cube."

"I heard it."

"I think it was meant for you." Dr. Banner pointed to my dad. My dad, in turn, held out the bag of blueberries. "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."

"The Stark Tower? That big ugly...building in New York?" I had to swallow a laugh at my dad's face.

"It's powered by an arc reactor, a self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for what, a year?"

"It's just the prototype. I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now. That's what he's getting at."

"So why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project? What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?"

"I should probably look into that once my decryption program finished breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files."

"I'm sorry. Did you say..."

"Jarvis has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours I'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has to hide. Blueberry?"

"Yet you're confused about why they don't want you around."

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence. Historically, not awesome."

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders. We should follow them."

"Here we go." I said under my breath, earning a look from Dr. Banner.

"Following's not really my style."

"You're all about style, aren't you."

"Of the people in this room, which one is A. wearing a spangly outfit and B. not of use?"

"Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you." Dr. Banner said.

Captain Rogers looked to Dr. Banner then my dad. "Just find the cube." He turned and stormed from the lab.

I let my eyes follow him until he was out of sight before turning back to my dad.

"Really?" I turned and walked from the table towards the door.

"Not you too." My dad called.

I just shook my head, leaving the lab. I saw the blue of Captain Rogers' suit turning a corner and I rushed after him.

"Captain! Captain Rogers!" He stopped turning to me.

"Miss Stark."

"Look, Captain Rogers, I-"

"Steve."

"Huh?"

"Please, call me Steve, ma'am."

"Okay, Steve, but you have to call me Skye. None of this ma'am business. I'm not old enough for that yet."

"Sorry ma-Skye."

I had to hold in a girly squeal at the sound of my name coming from him.

Was I seriously flirting with Captain America?

  
  



	29. Tensions Rise

"I just wanted to apologize for my dad. He can be an asshole. I mean, he's a genius, but an asshole."

I babbled on as Captain - I mean Steve and I walked through the helicarrier.

"He's nothing like Howard. Except for the outgoing personality and the need for flare."

"Well, my dad holds a lot of resentment towards his father. I mean, my grandfather spent most of my dad's childhood searching for you."

Steve stopped in front of a door saying 'Secure Storage'. "You sure talk a lot."

"Yeah, sorry. Nervous habit.”

"I make you nervous?"

"Well, I always get nervous in social situations. I try to avoid them as much as possible..." I trailed off as Steve forced the door open. 'Wow.' I mouthed. Imagine what else he could do with that strength. Oh, stop it Skye.

"You're not really like your father." Steve pulled me out of my mental argument.

"No. He ignored me most of my life. I'm not a genius so I always played second fiddle to the company."

"What about your mother?"

I laughed. "My mother's locked up in a mental hospital. I never really got to know her. One of my father's ex-coworkers injected her with a serum that drove her mad. The same serum they injected me with."

Steve suddenly climbed on one of the crates, practically flying up to the metal walkway above us, landing soundlessly. I just kinda stood there with my mouth open like a dork.

"Uh..." I looked from the floor to Steve. "I don't think I can do that."

"Just get up here where I can reach you. I'll help you the rest of the way."

Here goes nothing. I climbed to the top of the stacked crates. I could reach the top of the railing if I jumped, praying I don't miss.

Two strong hands grabbed my arms as I hung from the railing, lifting me effortlessly onto the walkway.

"Thanks." I breathed out, realizing how close I was to the American Icon. "We should probably look for the stuff..."

"Sorry, ma'am." Steve immediately backed away from me, turning and walking among the crates.

"So, what are we looking for exactly?"

"What Fury's been hiding from us. Why he wants the Tesseract so badly." He began opening crates.

"Phase 2." I read the label. "Uh, Steve?" I looked down at the contents of the crate. "I think I found it."

Steve came up behind me, the warmth of his body radiation off him. He opened up other crates, finding the exact same thing.

"Phase 2. SHIELD uses the Tesseract to make weapons." Steve aid, picking up one of the guns. "That's why he wants it back." Steve turned and started walking back the way we came.

I followed him, almost having to run to keep up with his long strides. Steve effortlessly jumped to the ground, looking back up at me.

"Jump. I'll catch you."

I eyed the gun and he placed it on one of the crates before holding his arms out. I climbed over the railing, taking a deep breath before jumping.

I opened my eyes only to be lost in the very blue eyes of Captain America. We stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds before Steve cleared his throat, a blush finding its way to his cheeks. Holy cow. I made Captain America blush.

Steve set me back on my feet and I held on to his (very large) bicep to make sure I could hold myself us after that...event.

"What are you going to do now?" I asked Steve as we made our way through the labyrinth of halls again.

"We're going to get some answers."

We walked back to the lab, my dad and Dr. Banner still there with Director Fury.

"What is 'Phase 2?'" My dad asked.

Steve threw the gun down on one of the metal tables, making me jump slightly.

"Phase 2 is SHIELD uses the cube to make weapons. Sorry, computer was moving a little slow for me."

"Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean..."

"I'm sorry, Nick. What were you lying?" My dad said, spinning one of the screens around, showing a blueprint for one of the guns.

"I was wrong, Director. The world hasn't changed a bit."

Thor and Natasha walked into the lab.

"Did you know about this?" Dr. Banner asked Natasha.

"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?" Natasha asked.

"I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed."

"Loki is manipulating you."

"And you've been doing what, exactly?"

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you."

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy. I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

"Because of him." Director Fury pointed at Thor.

"Me?"

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously outgunned."

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet."

"But you're not the only people out there, are you? And you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, that can't be controlled."

"Like you controlled the Cube?" Steve interjected.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. " Thor said. "It is a signal to all the realms that Earth is ready for a high form of war."

"A higher form? You forced our hand. We had to come up with something-"

"A nuclear deterrent. Because that always calms everything right down." My dad said from right next to me. I hadn't realized I'd been inching closer and closer to him.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Mr. Stark."

Steve started moving towards Director Fury. "I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep-" 

"Hold on. How is this now about me?"

"I'm sorry. Isn't everything." Oh boy. Wrong move.

"I thought humans were more evolved than this."

"Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?"

"You treat your champions with such mistrust."

"Are you boys really that naive? SHIELD monitors potential threats."

"Captain America's on threat watch?" Dr. Banner asked.

"We all are."

"Wait, you're on that list?" My dad asked. "Are you above or below angry bees?"

The air in the room grew more and more tense, making it hard to breathe. I could almost hear Loki laughing in my head. Oh god, something bad is going to happen.

"You speak of control, yet you court chaos." Thor said.

"That's his M.O. isn't it? I mean, what are we, a team? No, we're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're a time bomb." Dr. Banner said.

"You need to step away."

"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" My dad put his hand on Steve's shoulder.

Steve pushed it off immediately. "We know damn well why. Back off."

"I'm starting to want you to make me."

"Yeah. Big man in a suit of armor." Steve moved around my dad. "Take that off, what are you?"

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"I think I would just cut the wire.”

"Always a way out. You may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

"A hero? Like you? You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle." My dad stepped closer to Steve.

"Okay." I said, stepping in between them, one hand on Steve's abs, the other on my dad's arc reactor. "Everybody just needs to calm down."

"Put on the suit. Let's go a few rounds."

Thor started laughing. "You people are so petty. And tiny."

"Yeah. This is a team." Dr. Banner said.

"Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his..." Director Fury started.

"Where? You rented my room."

"The cell has just in case..."

"In case you needed to kill me. But you can't. I know. I tried. I got low. I didn't see an end. So, I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out. So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good. Until you dragged me back into this freak show. And put everyone here at rusk. You want to know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You want to know how I stay calm?"

My hands dropped back to my side as the two armed people in the room reached for their weapons.

"Dr. Banner," Steve said. "put down the scepter."

Suddenly the computers started beeping.

"Got it." Dr. Banner placed the spear back on the table. "Sorry kids, you don't get to see my party trick after all."

"You located the Tesseract?" Thor asked.

"I can get there fastest." My dad said.

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard. No human is a match for it.

"You're not going alone." Steve grabbed my dad's arm and my dad hit his hand away.

I got in between them again.

"You gonna stop me."

"Put on the suit. Let's find out."

"I'm not afraid to hit an old man."

"Put on the suit."

"Oh my god." I heard Dr. Banner say.

Then everything exploded.

I couldn't breathe. There was an arm around me, like someone had grabbed me when we were thrown back.

"Put on the suit." Someone said above me before pulling me to my feet.

"Yeah." Someone grabbed my arm, pulling me from the lab, out into the hallway. An alarm was going off and people were running everywhere.

"Skye, stay here. I'll come get you when it's safe."

My dad ran off without so much as a goodbye. I knew I should have gone into my room, locked the door and prayed for this to all be over soon, but I knew I couldn't There was one thing on my mind at that moment.

Loki.

  
  



	30. Scattered

I ran for the detention sector, knowing I needed to get there before anyone else if my plan was going to work.

I was halfway there when an inhuman roar echoed through the halls.

'Shit!' I kicked it up a notch, quickly ducking around a corner when a few men dressed in black, carrying very large guns, came down the hallway. I took this moment to catch my breath. Man, I need to start working out.

I ran the rest of the way, only to find the door open.

Not a good sign.

Loki was standing there, hands behind his back, looking the same as he had the first time I'd gone to see him.

"Why did you come here? Why not listen to your beloved father or your precious Captain?" My brow furrowed. How did he know... "I know everything. You let me in your head, and now, I can see everything you do."

A hand wrapped around my waist, pulling me back. I let a blast of energy go and the person went stumbling back. I spun around to see...another Loki. I looked between the two.

The one outside the cage chuckled. "You really think I'd let myself be captured? Do you really think I'm that weak?" He was right in front of me again.

He reached out for me, but I caught his hand.

"You're a monster." I sent another blast, but it barely fazed him.

"Very good. Use your anger." The Loki in the cage coached.

"I saw your exchange with the Captain. 'Was I seriously flirting with Captain America?'" He mocked.

I threw a punch at him, but he caught my hand easily. He spun me around so I was trapped, my arm behind my back.

"I gave you that dream. I needed you to feel something, so when I killed him slowly in front of you..." He spun me around, throwing me against the metal wall. I hit the ground, my vision hazy. "It was never real, darling." He knelt down, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "You have so much to learn."

He walked away from me as I tried to stay conscious. The door to the cage opened, freeing the second Loki.

"No!" I heard Thor yell, running straight for Loki, but he went straight through him and into the cage.

"Are you ever not going to fall for that?" Loki asked as Thor was sealed in the cage.

A guard with a large gun appeared, standing watch.

Thor jumped to his feet, running forward, hitting the glass with his hammer. A small crack appeared, the metal clasps slipping a little from the force, causing the cage to shake.

Loki chuckled before walking to the control panel. "The humans think us immortal. Should we test that?"

The guard grunted, falling to the floor. "Move away please." Phil Coulson stood there, a very large gun in his hand. Loki froze, backing away from the control panel. "You like this? We started working on the prototype after you sent the Destroyer. Even I don't know what it does." Phil switched on the gun. "Would you like to find out?"

Loki disappeared and reappeared behind Phil in the blink of an eye, the pointy end of his spear going through Phil's chest. My heart stopped and I vaguely heard Thor's anguished cry.

Tears stung my eyes as Loki walked back to the panel. The floor opened under the cage and Thor backed away from the glass. No words were exchanged between the brothers and, with the press of a button, Thor was falling to his death.

Loki turned to me as I struggled to my hands and knees, my world spinning.

"You're going to lose." I heard Phil say.

Loki turned back to him. "Am I?"

"It's in your nature."

"Your heroes are scattered. Your floating fortress falls from the sky. Where is my disadvantage?"

"You lack conviction."

"I don't think I'm..." Loki was cut off by a blast from the gun, sending him through the wall I was just laying in front of.

"So that's what it does."

I stumbled over to Phil, falling on my knees.

"Phil...oh god." My hands were shaking.

"Just remember, you can do anything. You can control it."

A hand fisted in my hair, pulling me to my feet. I yelped in pain.

"You're coming with me." Loki touched his spear to my chest and everything went black.

**3RD POV**

Tony was irate. Not only was Phil Coulson dead, his daughter was missing. She wasn't in either her nor his room like she was supposed to be. He knew she wouldn't stay there. He should have kept her with him.

"Where's my daughter, Nick?" Tony stormed over to the table, slamming his hands down.

"Mr. Stark -" Director Fury tried to reason with the man.

"Don't 'Mr. stark' me. My daughter is missing."

"There's nothing we can do for her. She's in Loki's hands now."

Tony couldn't help the laugh that came out. "Do you know how dangerous that is? You have no idea what she's capable of. I have no idea what she's capable of." Tony collapsed into a chair. "I should have been there..." He didn't want to think about what Loki could be doing to her.

Steve had followed him into the room, silently taking a seat at the table. The entire mood of the helicarrier was tense and mournful.

"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket. I guess he never did get you to sign them." Fury threw the vintage trading cards on the table. " We're dead in the air up here. Our communications, the location of the Cube, Banner, Thor, Skye, I got nothing for you. I lost my one good eye. Maybe I had that coming. Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier. There was an idea, Stark knows this, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, to see if they could become something more. To see if they they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea. In heroes." Tony stood and walked away, down to the detention sector.

He knew he should have been looking for his daughter, but...he couldn't. She was lost like Loki and the Cube. He knew Loki wouldn't kill her she was too powerful. Too bendable. He wouldn't waste something like that.

"Was he married?"

"No. There was a cellist, I think."

"I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man."

"He was an idiot."

"Why? For believing?"

"For taking on Loki alone. Both him and Skye."

"He was doing his job."

Tony scoffed. "He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have..."

"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony." Steve moved closer to the billionaire.

"Right, I've heard that before." Tony made to leave.

"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?"

"We are not soldiers. I'm not marching to Fury's fife."

"Neither am I. He's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does. But right now we've got to put that behind us and get this done. Now, Loki needs a power source. If we can put together a list..."

"He made it personal."

"That's not the point."

"That is the point. That's Loki's point. He hit us all right where we live. Why?"

"To tear us apart."

"Yeah, divide and conquer is great but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience."

"Right. I caught his act in Stuttgart."

"Yeah. That was just the previews. This is opening night. Loki, he's he's a full-tilt diva, right? He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants act monument built to the skies with his name plastered-" Realization hit Tony. "Son of a bitch"


	31. The Battle Begins

**3RD POV**

Tony didn't quite know what to expect as he flew towards Stark Tower. He could only imagine the things he was about to see, after all his daughter had been alone with a psychopath for a few hours. 

Loki was standing outside on the tower as Tony landed, the machines coming up to take the armor off him as he walked towards the door. Loki followed, walking inside the tower as well. Tony’s eyes scanned the room, searching for his daughter. He needed to know that she was okay. He felt partly responsible for this. Afterall, every time she’d been kidnapped by a psychopath, it was his own stupidity that had caused it. 

He caught sight of her, huddled on the floor by the couches, her arms wrapped around her knees as she stared up at him, fear evident in her eyes, even from his distance from her. He could see she was visibly shaking, every parental instinct in him telling him to go to her. To take her in his arms and tell her he was sorry, and that nothing bad would happen. He was so distraught by her appearance, he almost didn’t notice Loki had said anything. 

"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity."

"Actually, I'm planning to threaten you." He forced himself to stay calm, knowing he wouldn’t help the situation if he got angry and did something rash. 

"You should have left your armor on for that."

"Yeah. It's see a bit of mileage and you've got the glow stick of destiny. Would you like a drink?"

"Stalling me won't change anything."

"No, no. Threatening. No drink? Are you sure? I'm having one." He could see Skye a little better now. He took advantage of the fact Loki had his back turned to study her a little closer. There were bruises around her wrists and a bruise forming on her cheekbone. Her lip was split and there were tears brimming in her eyes. He swallowed the lump in his throat, focusing his attention back on Loki. 

"The Chitauri are coming. Nothing can change that. What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers." Tony said, pouring himself a drink. "That's what we call ourselves. We're sort of like a team. 'Earth's mightiest heroes' type thing." He didn’t like how Loki was standing between him, and his daughter. 

"Yes, I've met them."

"Yeah. Takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But let's do a headcount here. Your brother, the demigod, a super soldier, a living legend, who kind of lives up to the legend. A man with breathtaking anger management issue, a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them."

"That was the plan."

"Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they'll come for you." Tony moved from behind the bar. 

"I have an army."

"We have a hulk."

"I thought the beast had wandered off."

"You're missing the point. There is no throne. There is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect Earth, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it." 

"How will your friends have time for me, when they're so busy fighting you?"

Loki touched his scepter to Tony's chest, but all it did was clank against his metal reactor.

"This usually works."

"Well, performance issues, it's not uncommon. One out of five-" Loki grabbed Tony by the throat, tossing him on the floor. "JARVIS, anytime now." He said, standing back up.

Loki turned, grabbing Skye by the arm and dragging her to her feet. Tony didn’t miss the way she flinched from him. “If I can’t use you, then I’ll use her.” 

“No!” But he was too slow. 

Tony watched helplessly as Loki touched the scepter to Skye’s chest, her terrified brown eyes fading to emotionless blue, a color he’d seen in them before. Loki released her, going back over to Tony. 

Loki grabbed him again. "You will all fall before me."

"Deploy!" Tony yelled before Loki threw him out of the window, one of his suits following.

Loki stared down as the suit attached to Tony just before he hit the ground.

"And there's one other person you pissed off. His name was Phil." Tony blasted Loki back.

Skye helped the God of Mischief to his feet.

"Orders, sir?"

"Stay here with me. We will watch the world fall together."

Skye followed Loki outside as the Chitauri flew down from the portal. Thor landed on the deck below Loki. Skye went to move towards him.

"Loki!" He yelled. Loki held his hand out, stopping Skye. "Turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it."

"You can't. There is no stopping it. There is only the war."

"So be it." Loki jumped down, attacking his brother.

One of SHEILD's jets flew around to Stark Tower. Skye looked to the preoccupied Loki before sending a blast of energy, shredding one of the jet's wings, causing it to spiral to the ground below.

"Look at this!" Thor yelled as he had Loki pinned. "Look around you! You think this madness will end with your rule?"

"It's too late. It's too late to stop it."

"No. We can, together."

Loki paused, looking at Thor before stabbing him in the side. "Sentiment." He scoffed before Thor started fighting him again, tossing him on to the deck from over his head.

Loki rolled over the side, landing on one of the Chitauri's flying chariots. Skye glanced at the God of Thunder before jumping as well.

Their brigade shot at cars, sending debris flying and people running for cover.

Loki watched as one of the Leviathans was destroyed, the Chitauri screeching in anger.

"Send the rest." Several more Chitauri and Leviathans came through the portal. Loki turned to Skye. "Find the Captain. And kill him."

  
  



	32. Stark Down

Skye flew through the buildings, searching for her target.

"Incoming, Cap." Tony said as his daughter flew past him. "She's coming for you."

Steve barely had time to register before Skye landed in front of him, a small crater forming where she landed. She straightened up, looking at him with those electric blue eyes.

"Skye-"

He was thrown back by a blast of energy. He skidded along the ground, flipping back to his feet. Okay. New approach.

He threw his shield, but she stopped it halfway, sending it back to him. He ducked as it flew overhead, embedding itself in a piece of building debris lying in the street. He tugged it free, just barely having time to duck behind it as chunks of rock were thrown his way.

"You're gonna have to knock her out, Steve." Natasha said.

"I can't hit a lady!" Steve yelled, ducking and dodging debris being thrown at him. "Skye, I know you're in there." He thought he saw something flash across her face.

He took this moment to run at her, tackling her to the ground. He put his shield to the side, trapping her beneath him. She struggled, but he knew she wasn't fighting him. She could've easily stopped him. She looked up at him with those glowing electric blue eyes, but there was something behind them. Something begging him to help.

So, he did the first thing that came to mind.

He kissed her.

SKYE POV

Warmth. That's the first thing I felt. My eyes opened and I was shocked to say the least.

Steve Rogers was kissing me. Freaking Captain America was kissing me!

I closed my eyes, leaning into his body. I didn't care that he was all sweaty and dirty. I was sharing my first kiss with an American Icon.

He slowly pulled away, his eyes fluttering open. I never noticed how long his eyelashes were. I stared into his blue eyes, a smile forming on my face. An adorable half smile found his face.

"Hey." I said.

"Hi."

I brought my hand to his face, running my thumb over his dirt covered cheek.

"Thank you."

He had opened his mouth to reply when a blast shot over us, barely missing Steve. In a flash he rolled us over, his shield in one hand, the other holding me to his chest as the Chitauri's blasts ricocheted off his Shield.

"I guess I should be thanking you again."

"No need ma'am." I jumped to my feet. "You should get out of here-"

I sent an energy blast around us, sending the Chitauri flying back. Thor landed beside us.

"Skye, good to see you're back."

"Thor, good to see you're still alive."

I stopped the Chitauri's blasts, sending them flying back to their owners.

All was going smoothly until I heard Steve grunt behind me. He was on the ground, shield beside him. Thor sent a car rolling over the Chitauri, turning and throwing his hammer at another.

Thor helped Steve to his feet, part of his suit charred.

I didn't see the Chitauri until it was almost too late. It had its spear raised, ready to stab Thor in the back.

"No!" I jumped in front of the spear, feeling it rip through my skin, the electric charges scorching muscle.

"No!" Thor yelled, Steve sending the Chitauri flying back into a car.

My legs gave out under me, Thor catching me in his arms, gently lowering me to the ground. His large hand cupped the back of my head, keeping my face turned towards his.

"Skye, you must look at me."

I stared into his blue eyes. His were more crystal blue while Steve's were more sapphire blue.

"Skye is down l, I repeat, Skye is down."

It was quiet for a second before Steve knelt down, holding something to my ear.

"Skye?" My dad's voice crackled in my ear.

"Daddy..." My voice was weak.

"I'm sorry baby. For everything. I'm a horrible father and you deserved better. I love you, Skye."

I looked up to the sky as my dad flew over us towards the portal.

"What are you doing?" My voice broke.

"Tell Pepper I love her."

"Daddy?" There was no response on the other end.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I coughed, tasting metal. The Chitauri that had surrounded us all collapsed.

"Close it." I heard Steve say in the distance.

Everything was becoming fuzzy, sounds blending together.

"Son of a gun." That was Steve.

"He's not slowing down." Thor said from above me.

Coughs racked my body and I gripped the front of Thor's armor as something pooled in my mouth.

The last thing I heard was the Hulk roar in the distance before everything went dark.

  
  



	33. Exhausted and Irritable

**3RD POV**

Tony had refused to leave his daughter's side, Steve having to restrain him from following her into surgery. It took six agents to restrain Thor. So the two sat, side by side in the waiting room at SHIELD’s facility, the tension so thick it could almost be seen. It seemed like forever before the doctor came out.

"How is she?" Tony jumped to his feet.

"She's stable for now. She had considerable internal injuries and lost a lot of blood."

"She'll make it though, right?" Steve asked. 

"If she wakes up, her chances will be greater."

"What do you mean  _ 'if’  _ she wakes up?" Tony asked. 

"Well, she’s in a coma, but it’s not medically induced."

“What do you mean?” Tony asked. 

“The coma’s self-induced?” Bruce asked, moving closer to where the doctor was standing. 

“Yes. We’ve tried to bring her out of it, but nothing’s working. And I can’t say if she’ll ever come out of it. And there’s something else.” Tony almost didn’t think he could bear to hear anymore. “While she was in surgery, we noticed something.” 

“What?” Steve asked. 

“Mr. Stark, there’s no easy way to say this, but your daughter was raped.” 

Tony's legs gave out under him and he collapsed. He would have hit the ground if Thor hadn't caught him, guiding him to a chair. He had to clamp a hand over his mouth to keep the tears in. He was vaguely aware of Steve’s fists clenching beside his head, Clint and Natasha having to try and restrain Thor from destroying the waiting room. The words echoed through his head. Words he never had dreamed of having to hear. 

“I know it’s hard, Mr. Stark. You may go and see her now.” 

Somehow he made it to her room, barely holding himself up with the door frame at the sight of her. She seemed so small in the hospital bed. So broken. She was hooked up to various machines, bruises littering her skin. He stumbled over to the bedside, taking one of her hands in his. 

“Oh Skye.” He whispered, staring down at her face. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry.” 

Tony sat by her side, not even moving when Thor came in to bid his farewell. He looked so angry about the state his niece was in. Yeah, Thor had to explain that to Tony as well, which was another blow to the already emotionally stressed billionaire. Though it did explain a lot, it offered no answer as to why his daughter was in a self-induced coma. 

Steve came in after Thor had taken Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard, Tony still sitting in his spot, sketching away at some new suits. Tony hadn’t slept in over 48 hours and the billionaire looked exhausted. Steve wasn’t even sure when the last time he ate was. 

“Tony, go home. Get some sleep.” 

“I will when my daughter wakes up.” 

“That could be days, even weeks from now.” 

“Or it could be in the next five minutes. I want to be here when she wakes up.” 

“But you won’t be at all if you don’t sleep. You’ll be in a hospital bed beside her if you don’t take care of yourself.” 

“Why do you care so much? Because of your little teenage crush? You really think I’ll let my daughter date a man who’s almost 70 years older than her? A man who her grandfather was responsible for creating?” Steve tried not to let his words sink in too deep. Tony was exhausted and irritable. Well, more so than usual. “You think I want to put her in danger like that, after what she’s already been through?” 

“None of this would have happened if you would have thought things through. Revealing your identity, leaving her out in the open, defenseless like you have.” 

“You can’t pin what Loki did to her on me. You don’t think I feel guilty and responsible for what’s happened to her? She’s been through more in the past two years than you can even imagine. Sure I’ve made my mistakes. Sure I haven’t been there when she really needed me. You’ve known her for five minutes. What you’re feeling isn’t genuine. I’ve known her for her whole life. I’m her father, I know her better than anyone in this hospital.” 

Steve took a deep breath, calming himself down. He would have loved to duke it out with the billionaire right there, but he knew he shouldn’t let Tony’s words go to heart. He’d been through a lot over the past couple days, and he needed to rest. 

“Go home and get some rest, Tony.” 

Tony glared at him for a moment before shoving past him, leaving the hospital room. Steve stared at the closed door for a moment before turning back to Skye. He couldn’t help but let Tony’s words play through his mind. He cared about Skye. More than he probably should have. But Tony was right. He had known her for such a short time, it wasn’t possible he had feelings for her. But when he’d kissed her, he had no doubt about what he felt. And she had kissed him back. And Tony was right. He was almost 70 years older than her. But he couldn’t help the way he felt when he took her hand, hoping he would feel her squeeze his hand back, but it never came. 

Tony didn’t come back that day, or the next. Pepper had arrived at the facility, and she had probably forced Tony to sleep and eat. Steve sat sketching at Skye’s bedside. Dr. Banner had been placed as her doctor at Tony’s request, wanting to keep things as closed off as possible. There wasn’t much he could do for her but keep her as comfortable as possible, and try to figure out why she was in a coma in the first place. Dr. Banner had just entered the room when she shot up in bed, the heart monitor beeping uncontrollably.

Dr. Banner rushed forward, laying her back so she wouldn't tear her stitches, tilting her head back so he could remove her breathing tube.

She looked between them, wide eyed, breathing hard.

"What do you want from me?" She whispered.

She looked past them, fear in her chocolate eyes.

"She's hallucinating."

**SKYE POV**

The stars surrounded me. They were so close I felt like I could reach out and touch them.

"Do you like invading my dreams?"

"You're dying. I can help you."

"What?" I spun to face him.

"Your body. It can't hold the Chitauri's magic. It'll destroy you before you can heal it. I can help you."

"Why? Why would you help me?"

"You're special. The amount of power you harness should destroy you, but yet here you are." He stepped closer to me. "All you have to do is take my hand. I can take you back."

"And if I don't?"

"You'll stay here, floating in oblivion, eventually dissolving into nothing."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"You can't."

I looked at his outstretched hand for a long time, weighing the risk. Finally, I made my decision **.**

  
  



	34. Dreaming Of A Far Away Place

**3RD POV**

Tensions were high as Dr. Banner ran another test. He had let Tony come into the lab with him, knowing he couldn't stop the billionaire anyways. He was looking at brain scans from Skye's latest PET scan, comparing them to the CT scan he'd had done last week.

"Her brain is active." He said, staring at the two charts. "There's no sign of injury, or any memory loss, she's just not waking up."

Tony moved a few of his notes, looking down at one of the charts he'd made. "What is this."

"Tony..."

"What do you mean, so sign of tissue activity."

"Tony, I can't be sure, but when she tore her stitches two days ago, when she had that hallucination, there was no sign of new tissue damage."

"And?"

"Her wound isn't healing."

**SKYE POV**

I wasn't sure where I was. After I'd taken Loki's hand, the scenery around me had changed, but I wasn't anywhere I recognized. It looked like a stone dungeon. It was dank and dark and cold. I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself, trying to figure out what had happened.

"Where am I?"

"Lost."

"I thought you said you could help me."

"I am the god of mischief and lies, darling. Or did you forget that?"

I turned away from the smug god, running over to the wall.

"Help!" I screamed, banging on the stone walls, praying someone would hear me.

I hit the walls until my hands were bloody and shredded apart, sinking into a corner, defeated. I had been so stupid to trust the person who had gotten me in this situation in the first place. I didn't know if I was dead yet, or if I was dying still. What about my dad? And Steve? Thor? The team?

I jumped back to my feet, screaming again. I screamed until I was hoarse and couldn't make any noise anymore.

"Are you finished?"

I glared at Loki, sinking to the ground and curling in on myself.

**3RD POV**

On Asgard Thor was trying to sleep, but he was finding it rather hard. He couldn't get comfortable, and every time he'd drift off, he'd find himself waking at the smallest sound. He had finally decided he wasn't getting any sleep when he finally drifted off into a dream.

_He was standing in the middle of what looked like a graveyard. There were bones littering the ground around him, stretching on as far as he could see in all directions. He turned back to face forward and was shocked at what he saw._

' _Skye?'_

' _Thor?' She ran up to him frantically, looking around her wildly. 'Thor you have to help me! You can't let him find me!'_

' _Who? Who is after you?' He clenched his fists, expecting to feel Mjolnir in his hand, but was surprised to find it empty._

_She turned around, one hand still on his chest. 'No.' She whispered. 'No.'_

_Something dark wrapped around her ankle, pulling her to the ground and away from him. He tried to run after her, but found himself stuck in place._

' _Thor!' She screamed as she disappeared from sight. 'Thor!'_

He shot up in bed, his heart pounding as the dream replayed in his head. She had looked so frightened. So desperate, and yet he could do nothing for her. He climbed out of bed, donning his armor before heading to the throne room, where he knew Odin would be.

Back on Earth Tony couldn't believe what he was hearing. What did Dr. Banner mean when he said Skye wasn't healing?

"What do you mean she's not healing?"

"I mean the coma's keeping her from healing. I left the wound open so we can flush it out, make sure it doesn't get infected, but otherwise I can't do anything until she's awake."

"But how do we wake her up?"

Dr. Banner went to answer, but was interrupted by a ruckus outside the lab. He looked to Tony before opening the door, peeking his head out.

"Where is my niece?"

"Thor? What are you doing here?" Dr. Banner asked, walking out into the hallway where several nurses were trying to calm the god of thunder down.

"I am here for Skye."

"Why? Nothing's happened. She's still in a coma."

"She called out to me. In a dream. I am here to take her with me. My father has granted her entrance to Asgard."


	35. Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I want to apologize ahead of time if anyone seems a little OOC, because in writing this, I have come to realize I don't know the Thor characters (besides Thor) as well as I do the characters in Iron Man and even Captain America. I just wanted to apologize ahead of time, but I tried as hard as I could to get them right.

“Our medicine is more advanced. She has a better chance of recovering under Asgardian care, than she does here. No offence.” He nodded towards Dr. Banner. 

“None taken.” Dr. Banner nodded back. “Tony, he’s got a point. If he thinks it will help, then I would go with it.” 

“You want to take my daughter to another realm? In outer space?” 

“You forget she is also Asgardian, if only by half. She is Odin’s granddaughter. He would not refuse her asylum if she asked it of him.” 

Tony bit his lip. Thor had a point. And if they could help her, bring his daughter back to him, then maybe it was a risk he should take. It’s not like she would be in danger there. 

“Alright. You can take her. Just promise me she’ll be safe and you’ll bring her back in one piece.” 

“You have my word.” 

Dr. Banner unhooked all of the machines and the IV, letting Tony get her dressed again before Thor left the facility with her. Tony watched as the Bifrost took Thor and his daughter to a different realm, a place he wouldn’t be able to reach her. It was one thing to have her across the country, where she was a phone call away and he could track her. It was another to have her in a different realm. He always knew he’d have to let her go someday, but this was not quite what he had in mind. 

........

Thor cradled Skye close as he arrived in Asgard, Fandral still waiting there with a horse when he arrived. 

“That is the girl?” Fandral asked as he stared at the small human in Thor’s arms. 

“Yes. Freya’s daughter.” Thor put Skye on the horse before climbing on himself, Skye falling limply against his chest. “We must get her to the healers with haste.” 

Thor and Fandral rode back to the palace at full speed, pushing their horses as quickly as possible through the quiet streets. It was late in Asgard, not many still awake. It made their journey faster, and easier. Not having to worry about the gossip that would surely spread as soon as word got out. Many would think their lost princess had returned, and it would be an even bigger surprise to learn she’s Freya’s daughter. Thor wanted to keep that as much of a secret as possible. 

He jumped off his horse, taking care in lowering Skye into his arms, not wanting to aggravate her wound any more. He carried her into the palace, making his way towards the healers, knowing they were ready for her arrival. No one outside the palace knew of what was happening. 

Eir greeted him when he arrived, giving him directions as to where to place Skye. He laid her down on the table, reluctant to let her go. He was scared she would disappear like in his dream. 

“She is in a coma.” Thor said as Eir began her work. “Though the doctors on Earth do not know why. They say it is self-induced.” 

Eir was silent as she worked, surveying Skye’s wound from the Chitauri, and her brain as well. Thor looked down at his niece as she slept in her coma, her face seemingly relaxed, but he knew from his dream she was anything but. 

“Where is she?” Thor heard his mother’s voice. “Where is my granddaughter?” Frigga rushed to stand beside her son, staring down at Skye, much like Thor was. “Look at her.” Frigga said, turning to Thor slightly. “She looks just like her.” 

“Indeed. The resemblance is uncanny.” 

“The Doctors on Earth were right.” Eir said, gaining the attention the royals. “The coma is her doing.” 

Frigga reached out, touching her granddaughter’s head. “There is dark magic keeping her trapped inside her head.” 

“The magic of Loki.” Both Thor and Frigga turned around at hearing Odin’s voice. Odin moved so he was standing at the head of the table, staring down at Skye’s face. “Loki’s hold over this child is strong.” He ran his fingers over her forehead lightly, Skye stirring just the slightest. “But not impenetrable.” 

“Let me speak with him.” Frigga said, placing a hand on Thor’s chest when he went to move. “If I cannot succeed in convincing him to break it, then you may do what you wish. Please.” 

Odin eyed his wife for a moment. “Very well. In the meantime, have our guest chambers prepared. We have a royal guest in this house. She shall be treated as such.” 

The stab wound from the Chitauri was healed, and the healers moved Skye to one of the guest rooms of the palace. Thor stayed by her side, watching over her as Frigga spoke with Loki in his cell. 

“Loki.” Frigga appeared to her son in his cell, deep within the dungeons of the palace. “What have you done?” 

“I thought I already told you.” He said, turning away from Frigga’s form. 

“But to Freya’s daughter. Your niece.” 

“She is as much my niece as you are my mother.” Loki said, turning on his heel to face her.

“Release her, Loki. Do not keep her trapped forever.” 

“I can do no more to help her. She brought this upon herself. She sought me out when I was lost. She has seen things, things even you do not understand yet.” 

“Loki.” Frigga said calmly, knowing not to trust all the words that came from the god of lies. 

“Fine. She is in your hands now.” 

Frigga disappeared from the cell, making her way to the guest chambers. The room was empty, Thor probably in search of breakfast. Morning light streamed in through the window, making the room and its occupant appear to glow. Frigga sat on the edge of the bed, smoothing Skye’s hair away from her face. 

“You have been hurt so deeply, child.” She whispered. “Return to us so you can return to your family on Earth.” Frigga placed a hand over Skye’s forehead, chanting a spell under her breath, purging Skye’s mind of the darkness that kept her trapped there. 

A gasp left Skye’s lips, her breathing picking up from its slow pace. Frigga removed her hand, watching over her granddaughter as her eyes fluttered open, the soft brown orbs squinting in the sunlight. 

“Where am I?” She groaned, shifting slightly in the bed. 

“Do not fret, child. You are safe in Asgard.” 

“Asgard?” Skye whispered, her brow furrowing. “How did I get to Asgard?” Her eyes finally opened once more, her face turned towards Frigga. 

“Thor brought you not two days ago.” 

“What happened? I-I...I don’t remember-”

“Shh.” Frigga shushed her granddaughter. “You were trapped in your mind. The doctors on Earth could not help you, so Odin granted Thor permission to bring you here, hoping our healers could help you.” 

“Who are you?” Skye whispered, feeling like she’d met the woman in front of her before. 

“My name is Frigga. I am Thor’s mother.” 

“Oh.” Skye’s eyes went wide and she stumbled over her words, trying to form a sentence. 

“Don’t fret, child. You are family. There is no need for formalities.” Frigga stood from her spot on the bed. “Get some rest now. I will alert Thor of your waking. I will send a healer in as well to check on you.” 

“Thank you.” Skye whispered, watching as her grandmother left the room, not quite sure whether to believe this was real or not. 


	36. Asgard

**SKYE POV**

Eir, the main healer, had arrived before Thor, and had promptly locked him out when he arrived so she could check me over. 

“The wound is nearly healed.” She said, poking around the stab wound on my stomach. “How do you feel?”

“Comfortable.” I said, stretching a little. “And hungry.” 

“Well, hungry is a good thing. There is always food available, and if you feel up to it, I am sure Prince Thor would love to see you.” 

“I feel like I need a bath.” I said, not wanting to lift my arm too high. 

“I will send a handmaid in to draw you a bath, and get you some clean clothes.” 

She left before I could say anything about needing a handmaid, but I guessed that was a normal thing for royalty. Or at least it was during history. But then again, this was an alien world compared to what I was used to, even though I was technically half Asgardian. 

A maid came and drew a bath for me, something I was very grateful for. I stayed in the bath until the water was cold, finally deciding I should find Thor and let him know I was alright. Apparently he was rather worried, or at least according to the handmaid. 

“Lady Frigga brought you a dress.” The handmaid said, motioning to the bed, which was made already, where a dress had been laid out. 

The dress was beautiful. It was a light lavender color, with darker purple accents to it. It had a scooped neckline, and was fitted around the waist, then flared out at the hips slightly. 

“It’s beautiful.” I said, running my hand over the material. 

“It was Princess Freya’s at one time.” 

I smiled a little. I would have loved to see my mother as an Asgardian. But then again, if she’d never been banished, I probably wouldn’t have been born. 

“Are you alright, my lady?” 

I hadn’t realized I’d been staring at the dress. “Oh, yes, I’m fine...what is your name?” 

“Embla, my lady.” 

“Embla.” I smiled. “It is very pretty.” 

“Thank you, my lady.” She smiled a little. 

“Call me Skye. None of this ‘my lady’ stuff.” 

“Of course m-Skye.” 

With the help of Embla I got into my dress, the garment fitting me like a glove. Embla guided me to the dining hall, where I could hear Thor’s booming laugh echoing down the hall. The smell of food had my stomach growling before we even arrived. 

Thor was on his feet as soon as we entered, his arms wrapping around me in a hug as he picked me up off the ground, spinning us around a couple times. 

“Are you well, Skye?” He asked, finally putting me back on my feet. 

“I’m better than I’ve felt in a long time.” I said, smiling up at him. 

“Then this is a reason for celebration. Come, join us.” 

He turned me around, guiding me to the table where four other people sat. They all stood when we got closer. 

“Skye, let me introduce The Warriors Three: Hogun, Volstagg and Fandral.” The three men nodded to me. “And the Lady Sif.” 

“It is an honor, Lady Skye.” The one Thor had introduced as Hogun said. 

“Thor has spoken very highly of you. Including how you risked your life to save his. “ Lady Sif said. 

“Oh, it was nothing.” I said, dismissing them. “Just looking out for family.” I smiled up at Thor. 

After a hearty meal, Thor and The Warriors Three showed me around Asgard. We went halfway across the city before I started to feel tired, the four men agreeing that it would be best to head back, not wanting to wear me out too much. 

I stood on one of the balconies, staring out across Asgard in the setting sun. I heard footsteps behind me, and I didn’t have to turn around to know who it was. 

“It’s so beautiful here.” 

“Indeed.” Thor said, leaning on the balcony next to me. “You know you are more than welcome to stay here.” 

“And I would love nothing more than to stay. But, I can’t just leave my dad like that. He at least deserves to know that I’m okay.” 

Thor looked down at me. “And you wish to see Captain Rogers again.” 

I immediately felt my face get hot. “I-What? What makes you say that.” 

“You care for him, do you not.”

“Well, of course I do. I care about a lot of people.” 

“That is not what I meant.” 

“I...” I sighed, looking down at my hands. “I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about him. Something different. A good kind of different. Maybe it’s because he’s so different than my dad. Or his old-world manners.”

“Or how handsome he is?” 

“I-I wasn’t going to say that...”  

It was silent between us for a second. 

“Then you should return to him. You are always welcome to visit.” Thor wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into a hug. 

Leaving Asgard was going to be harder than I thought. 


	37. Down To Earth

**3RD POV**

Thor paced back and forth in front of the throne where Odin sat, Frigga by his side. Thor wasn’t quite sure whether he was irate or just annoyed. Maybe it was a mix of both. 

“Father, please. We know now it was Loki who was at fault. Bring Freya back to us.” 

“No.” Odin said. “She is lost to us.” 

“Thor, I know you loved your sister dearly. We all did. But she is not the same as when she was banished.” Frigga tried to reason with her son. 

“Nor would she be if we did bring her back. She was poisoned, and now her mind is lost. There is no magic, dark or otherwise that could restore her to what she once was. She will remain on Earth until she passes.” 

Thor stopped pacing, wiping a hand down his face. He didn’t want to believe it was true. Skye had survived the same poison that was given to Freya. It seemed backwards to him. 

“I do not know yet what will happen to Skye.” Odin said. 

“What do you mean?” Thor asked, turning back to Odin. 

“It was some time before Freya began losing herself.” 

“You’re saying Skye could succumb to the same fate?” Thor asked, his grip on Mjolnir tightening. 

“No. She is strong, but I fear she has already let darkness into her mind.” 

“With everything that happened-” 

“I know what happened.” Odin interrupted Thor, leaning forward on the throne. “I know what he put her through, mentally and physically.” 

“He defiled our family!”  

“Thor, calm yourself.” Frigga said as Thor took a couple deep breaths, trying to calm the storm that had brewed outside in his anger. 

“Loki has been rightfully punished. There is no more we can do.” Odin said calmly. 

“The healers checked, and she is not with child. She is making a speedy recovery.” Frigga said, descending the steps towards her son. “I know you care for her, Thor.” 

“She is all I have left of Freya. I wish to keep her safe, here on Asgard.” 

“I know. But she has family on Earth. Family she has been with her whole life that need her. We’ve only known her for a few days. We have no right to make her stay with us. It is her choice. Now go. Be with her. She needs you now more than ever.” 

Frigga waited until Thor was gone before turning back to her husband. “You didn’t tell him?” 

“No.” Odin said, rising from his throne. “He doesn’t need to know yet.” Odin descended the stairs until he was standing beside Frigga. “If I would have told him, he would never allow Skye to leave.” Odin stared at the door to the throne room. “I fear she will be back with us before long.” 

**SKYE POV**

I spent another few days on Asgard, hanging out with Thor and speaking with my new found grandparents. I was a little reluctant to leave my family, but I knew I had to get back to my dad. I couldn’t just leave him forever, and make him think I was dead, or in a coma. I couldn’t leave him feeling that guilt. So Thor and I rode out to the Bifrost, Thor agreeing to accompany me back to Earth to make sure I got there safely. 

We arrived back at the SHIELD facility, the sun just starting to rise over the hills. I turned back to Thor, wrapping my arms around him in a hug. 

“Thank you.” I whispered, not wanting to let go. He was the closest thing I had to my mother, and I knew I wouldn’t be seeing him again for a long time. 

“You are welcome.” He said, pulling away. “If you need me, just call out to Heimdall. The same goes for if you ever want to visit.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” 

I watched as he was beamed back up to Asgard, a small empty feeling in my chest. It had been so nice being around family, finally getting to learn about my mother and what she was like before she was banished. 

“Skye?” 

I turned around, facing my dad. “Hi Daddy.” 

We met each other halfway, both of us almost running to the other. I wrapped my arms around him tightly as he nearly suffocated me with how tightly he was holding me. But I didn’t care. No matter how badly I had wanted to stay on Asgard, I had started to miss him. 

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.” He whispered in my ear. “I never wanted any of this to happen.” 

“I’m alright.” I said, pulling back from him slightly. 

He cupped my face, staring at me with teary eyes. “I won’t ever let anything like this happen to you again.” 

I had to refrain from telling him that was what he said last time. And the time before that. But I guess that comes with the territory. Having a superhero for a dad, and a god for an uncle. And maybe, someday, a supersoldier for a boyfriend. Oh, stop it Skye. That’s way too far fetched. Steve would never go for someone like me. But I couldn’t deny there was a connection there. 


	38. Two Months Pass

It had been almost two months since the Battle of New York, and my dad had started burying himself in his work again. I knew he wasn't doing well, any sane person could see that. I finally had gotten him to spill what had happened after I had been stabbed, which he admitted to flying a nuke out to space, and almost not making it back. I knew that had affected him in more ways than one, as all of the time he didn't spend with me, he spent working on the tower, and making suits.

It was a nice change, having my dad back again. We went out all the time, he took me shopping, we went out for lunch, sometimes he'd even just fly us around New York.

He and Pepper, well mainly Pepper, had been doing lots of press coverage, since the giant hole in the sky that brought aliens to Earth did open over Stark Tower, which had promptly been renamed Avengers Tower as it was being reconstructed. And, of course, my dad with his new sidekick Rhodey, also helped defend New York City, and the Stark name since he still had a lot of enemies.

I hadn't seen Steve since the battle. He'd moved to D.C. to be closer to SHIELD's headquarters since he was now acting as an agent for them. I knew it was far fetched, thinking we could actually have something together, but a girl can dream, can't she?

I wasn't doing so great myself. Most of the time I spent with my dad involved talking during the early hours of the morning. Neither of us were sleeping well. I kept having nightmares. Some were about things that had already happened, and some I couldn't quite make sense of. Sometimes I was lucky and had a nice dream, but those were few and far between. I knew the sleepless nights were not good for my health, but diving deep into my worst fears every time I closed my eyes...they were worth it.

...

_I was, sitting on the edge of a bed, the sheet wrapped around me._

' _I should get back.'_

_A warm hand ran down my bare back, tracing down the back of my arm, grasping my hand._

' _You could stay.'_

_I sighed, pulling my hand from his, putting my clothes back on._

' _It's better this way.' I said, pausing in the doorway before turning and walking away. I ignored his calls, knowing the only thing waiting for me down that line was pain as tears fell down my cheeks._

"Skye!" I jolted awake, gulping down air. "Hey." A warm hand touched my cheek, wiping away the tears I didn't know were actually falling. "Look at me."

I looked up to see the concerned eyes of my father. I gulped down air, still feeling the sadness from the dream. I leaned forward, resting my head against my dad's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me, resting his cheek on my head.

We stayed that way for a while, the steady beating of my dad's heart and the soft hum of his arc reactor calming my frantic breathing.

"You wanna talk about it?"

I pulled away, sliding out of bed. "I'm fine." I began walking to the bathroom.

"No, Skye, you're not." He stood from his spot on the bed. "Neither of us are, but you're not going to get any better just holding everything in. Eventually it's all going to come out and it's going to be ugly when it does."

"Says the man who never wants to talk to me about what he's going through. Where do you think I get it from? I'll tell you what I dream about if you tell me what your deal is. Until then, don't worry about me. Worry about more important things like your suits." I turned, walking to the bathroom.

He didn't say anything, just left the room, the door slamming closed behind him. Yeah, we talked more, but most of the time, it wasn't about happy things.

I turned the shower on, knowing I probably wasn't going to sleep again that night. Or, well, morning. I might as well get ready for my day of doing nothing. Well, on the outside it seemed like I was doing nothing. I had been practicing with my powers more and more, trying to get better control over them. I still had slip ups occasionally, but I was learning more and more as I practiced. I tried to exercise them more and more, like levitating my shampoo to my hand in the shower. Sure it was good to work my powers, but in turn it made me more lazy.

After I got out of the shower, I changed into a pair of sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt before heading back to my room. I was contemplating heading out to the kitchen to grab something to eat when I suddenly became very dizzy. My world was spinning, and I reached a hand out to grab something before I hit the floor, but all I met was air. My legs gave out under me and suddenly I was falling, my world going dark.

...

_My head was underwater, my lungs burning as I tried to hold my breath. Something pulled me up forcefully, making me gasp in precious oxygen as water splashed everywhere. I wanted to wipe the water from my eyes and move my hair back but my wrists were tied behind my back with a zip-tie.I was forced back down on my knees, water soaking into my jeans._

_A rough hand grabbed my chin, tilting my face up. I tried to get a look at him, but I couldn't with the wet hair stuck to my face._

_'Where is the soldier!' A rough voice demanded._

' _I don't know.' I gasped out._

_Apparently that wasn't a good enough answer because I found myself being forced back into the water, barely having enough time to draw in a breath before I was submerged again. I was dropped on my knees again, the two pairs of hands holding me still as I tried to fight them._

' _I'm only going to ask once more. Where is the soldier!'_

_I could barely think with the lack of oxygen I was taking in. 'I don't know what you're talking about! I don't know any 'soldier'!' I gasped out, tears mixing with the water dripping down my face. It was silent for a moment, aside from footsteps that echoed around me. A body crouched behind mine, the other hands holding me still as warm breath fanned over my ear._

' _You should have told me where the soldier is.'_

_I was forced into the water again, but this time, the hands held me down, my feet slipping on the wet tile as I desperately tried to find a way to keep myself from drowning._


	39. Unknown Abilities

I sat up, tears running from my eyes as I desperately gasped for breath, trying to fight the hands that were holding me. 

“Skye.” A calm voice said, trying to sooth my frantic hyperventilating. “Skye.” Arms wrapped around me, pulling me against a solid chest. I clutched onto my dad’s shirt for dear life, sobbing into his shoulder as he held me on the floor. “You gotta breathe, okay? You’re gonna pass out again if you don’t breathe.” 

“I-I c-can-I can’t.” I sobbed out, my vision already starting to go spotty again. 

“Yes you can.” My dad shifted, sitting down on the floor, pulling me into his lap so my head was resting on his chest. “In and out slowly, with me okay?” 

I began breathing shakily with him, in and out. In and out. My breathing eventually evened out, the dots disappearing from my vision. I leaned limply against my dad’s chest, tears still falling from my eyes. I wasn’t quite sure what had happened, but whatever it was had felt so real. 

“Hey.” My dad said quietly, pulling away slightly so he could look down at me. “Skye, look at me.” I lifted my eyes to his, concern covering his face. 

I wiped my nose with my hand, bringing it back covered in red. “Oh god.” I whimpered, staring down at the blood on my hand. “What’s happening to me?” 

My dad tucked my head back under his chin, gently rocking me back and forth. “I don’t know, baby. I don’t know.” 

Which is why I found myself sitting on a table in the newly reconstructed lab, Dr. Banner running tests. I had finally stopped crying, but my hands were shaking as I stared down at the blood on my fingers. 

“So what happened exactly?” Dr. Banner asked as he typed something in on one of the computers. 

“I-I don’t know. I got out of the shower and felt fine, until I went to go get food from the kitchen and I got really dizzy and suddenly collapsed.” 

“Do you remember anything after that?” 

“I...it felt like a dream, but it was so real at the same time. There were these men, and they kept holding my head underwater because I wouldn’t tell them where the ‘soldier’ was. And at the end, they were drowning me and I woke up on the floor.” Dr. Banner and my dad shared a look. “What am I missing?” I asked, looking between the both of them. 

“I was down here when JARVIS told me there was a disturbance upstairs in your room. It looked like you had fallen asleep on the floor and were having a nightmare, but you wouldn’t wake up from it. I replayed the security footage, and it looked like you were fine one second, then you were unconscious, having a fit on the floor.” 

“Brain scan looks normal.” Dr. Banner said. “No sign of a stroke, or a seizure. Your blood pressure and heart rate are high, as well as your temperature, but that’s to be expected. Everything else looks normal. I’m just waiting on the blood test.” 

“The men in your...” My dad waved his hand. “Whatever that was, they were talking about a ‘soldier’?” 

“Yeah. They kept asking me where the ‘soldier’ is.” 

“Well,” My dad looked at Dr. Banner. “We only know one soldier.” 

“Oh god, Steve.” I breathed, moving to jump down from the table. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” My dad asked, stopping me from moving. 

“We need to warn Steve. If there’s men after him...if they already have him-” 

“Why would Steve be in trouble?” 

“What if that was a vision that I just had? What if there’s some evil men after Steve and they want to kidnap him and do horrible things to him?” 

“So you’re having visions now? You’re a psychic?” 

“On the helicarrier, when Thor first told me about my mother, he said the serum could have just unlocked these powers. I could have had these powers my whole life, and the serum just brought them out. Who knows what all I can do? And if I am having visions...I need to warn Steve.”

“Well, until the blood test comes back, you are going to stay here and take it easy.” My dad said, pushing me back on the metal table. “I’m not going to go jumping to conclusions until I have all the variables.” 

“But dad-” 

“I’ll give Cap a call later. Make sure he’s still breathing. You, stay here.” 

I sighed in defeat, laying back on the table. He could be right. I was jumping to conclusions. Who knew what it was. It could just be due to the stress and the lack of sleep. Plus the fact I had traveled to another realm. That could have been messing with my head. 

My blood tests came out normal, but my dad still refused to go with the idea that I was psychic. Though, it had only happened once since I’d been injected with the serum, so I didn’t have much to backup my claim. My dad assured me that Steve was fine and in D.C, living his life with SHIELD. 

“You couldn’t have let me talk to him?” 

“You don’t need to talk to him to find out he’s okay. I’m perfectly fine with playing messenger boy.” 

“What if I wanted to ask him other things? Like how is he adjusting? Has he found a place to live? Does he like working with SHIELD?” 

“Skye, you’re almost 19. He’s almost 90. Whatever you’ve gotten in your head, it’s not real. Whatever you think is there, is pure infatuation on your part.” 

“What, so I can’t have a friendly conversation with someone? I can’t try to be nice? Not everything is about relationships and sex, dad.” 

“And you would know that? Who do you have outside your family that you can call a friend? A good friend? No one. You’re a baby compared to him, Skye. You don’t know the first thing about having a relationship.” 

“Because you won't let me. I don’t have friends because you won’t let me out of the house to make them. You always stand in my way when it comes to trying to make friends, or have relationships with people. What is it that you’re scared of? Me leaving? You can’t keep me with you forever, dad. Eventually I’m going to go off and have my own life. I need to live. I need to do stupid things and make mistakes so I can learn from them. A relationship is the last thing I need right now, dad. I just found out my mom was a goddess, I’m half alien, my dad’s a superhero, I’ve been kidnapped twice, tortured, raped...” My words were blocked by the lump in my throat. “You’re not the only one having problems dealing with this.” I turned on my heel, heading back to my room. 

I collapsed on my bed, hugging a pillow to my chest as more tears flowed down my cheeks. I didn’t mean to go off on him like that, but he was being so unfair. My phone buzzed on my nightstand and I had half a mind not to answer it. 

“JARVIS, who is it?” 

“It is Captain Rogers on a cell phone.” 

I leaned up on my arm, grabbing my cell phone. “Hello?” 

_ ‘Skye, it’s Steve. Are you alright?’  _

“Yeah, I just had a little disagreement with my dad, that’s all.”

_ ‘I heard about what happened. How are you handling it?’  _

“It would be better if I really knew what was happening. I think I could be psychic, but my dad’s not too quick to jump on that bandwagon.”

_ ‘Well, serums can do some amazing things. Who knows what else you’re capable of.’  _

“That’s what scares me.” I laughed. 

Steve chuckled as well and I felt my stomach flutter. _ ‘Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Your dad said you were pretty shaken up.’  _

“Yeah. I just was worried something had happened to you, or was going to.” 

_ ‘Well, everything’s quiet down here. SHIELD keeps me pretty busy, and the rest of my time is trying to learn as much as I can about everything.’  _

“JARVIS said you’re calling from a cell phone. Congratulations on learning that feat.” 

_ ‘Well, they’re apparently pretty essential in daily life these days, so I figured I’d break down and buy myself one. Natasha had a blast teaching me how to use it. I still don’t understand some stuff, but I’m getting there.’  _

“Well, don’t stress yourself out too much. And be careful on your super secret missions.” 

_ ‘Yes, ma’am.’  _ He said, making me smile more than I already was.  _ ‘You take care not to stress yourself out either. You’ll figure everything out eventually. I should go. Get back to figuring out how to work the TV.’  _

“Alright, take care, Steve. I’ll talk to you soon.” 

_ ‘Take care, Skye _ .’ The line clicked as he hung up. 

I fell back amongst my pillows, my face hurting from smiling too much. Oh boy. If he had that effect on me just from talking on the phone...I could only imagine what it would be like in real life. 

 


	40. Iron Man 3: Somethin' Bad About To Happen

Another two months had passed since the incident and my dad had made us return to Malibu to be closer to Pepper. It was early December and my dad had put it up to me to decorate. I wasn’t feeling very Christmas-y this year, but I did it nonetheless, knowing if I didn’t, it would raise too many questions. 

I hadn’t had an accident since the first one. Most of the visions happened when I was asleep, in the forms of nightmares. Like the one that had spurred me to beg my dad not to return to Malibu. I didn’t know what it meant, but it did keep me on edge. My dad was still a skeptic when it came to the idea that I could possibly be psychic. Granted nothing I’d seen had happened yet, but then again, I didn’t know how far into the future I was seeing. It could have been years for all I knew. 

My dad had buried himself in the garage once we’d arrived, and barely came up for air, much less food and sleep. He was getting worse and worse as time went on, and I wasn’t sure how much longer he’d last. He’d wear himself down to barely functioning, and then keep going until something gave out and he ended up in the hospital. He thought coming back to Malibu would relieve some stress, but in the end it just made things worse. Like how he’d been up for almost 72 hours. Yeah, he had JARVIS watching me, looking out for any signs of anything weird, like another incident, and I had JARVIS watching him. He’d been down in the garage for almost three days straight, and I knew he could possibly go on longer if he put his mind to it. Speak of the devil...

“Skye, can you get me an ice pack?” My dad’s voice came over the TV, muting the show I was watching. 

“Why do you need an ice pack? Are you hurt? How bad is it?” 

“No, I’m not- I’m all out down here, and it would be nice to have a spare.” 

I sighed dramatically. “Fine. I’ll get you an ice pack.” 

I went to the kitchen, pulling one of the spare ice packs out of the freezer before heading towards the garage. I was stopped before I reached the stairs by one of my dad’s suit. 

“Thank you, Skye.” It held its hand out, waiting for me to put the ice pack in it. 

“I know you’re not really in there, dad.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Let me come down there.” 

“No, just give the suit the ice pack then go back to whatever it was you were doing. No need to worry.” 

I crossed my arms. “Usually when people say ‘no need to worry’, there’s need to worry. You’re not actually hurt are you? I’m coming down.” 

I went to move around the suit, but it grabbed me around the waist, lifting me up and putting me back down so it was between me and the stairs. 

“Come on, dad. Let me see what’s going on. I just want to help you.” 

“And you did, by getting me an ice pack.” The suit grabbed the ice pack from my hand. “Now go back to doing what you were doing. I’m fine.” 

“Uh huh.” But I didn’t try to fight it. I knew I wouldn’t win that one, so I went back to my room, throwing myself back on my bed face first. 

I missed New York. There was more to do in New York and in the tower. Being here I just felt trapped. My dad wouldn’t let me leave the mansion, and he wouldn’t leave the garage, so I was alone until Pepper came home. 

My stomach growled, signalling it was time to eat again. I groaned before heading to the kitchen, rubbing my tired eyes as I went, almost running into a wall at one point. Sure, I got on my dad’s case about not sleeping, but it was kind of hypocritical. I hadn’t been sleeping more than a few hours a night, the nightmares and visions plaguing me. 

“JARVIS, when is the last time someone went grocery shopping?” I asked, opening up the fridge. 

“A week and two days ago. Might I request sending in an order for food.” 

“I think you’re right.” I said, straightening up after looking in the almost empty fridge. “I’ll get right on...” I suddenly felt very dizzy, the world swimming as I leaned on the kitchen counter, trying to keep my balance. “JARVIS...” I squeaked out just seconds before my legs gave out, my world going black. 

_ I was standing in front of the TCL Chinese Theater, surrounded by people. I noticed a familiar dark haired man in front of me, wearing the typical suit I was used to seeing him in.  _

_ ‘Happy.’ I thought, turning my attention in the direction he was looking. There were two men there, one standing looking down at the other. He looked like he was in pain, his skin glowing orange, getting brighter and brighter until everything exploded.  _

I shot up, still on the kitchen floor, breathing hard as I tried to grasp everything that I’d just seen. I heard running footsteps approaching and my dad slid to a stop when he saw me. 

“Skye-” 

“It happened again.” 

“I know. I was on my way back from lunch with Rhodey when JARVIS told me.” He knelt down in front of me. “I got here as fast as I could.” 

“Dad, something bad is going to happen.” 

“You’ve told me that before.” 

“It was Happy. Something bad is going to happen to Happy.” 


	41. Believe Me Now?

My dad stood next to me as I sat on the kitchen counter, wiping the blood from my face. It was silent between us, and I could almost feel the tension coming from him. I couldn’t stop shaking, anxious about the idea that Happy really could be in danger. I hadn’t seen him much since he was made head of security at Stark Industries. I kind of missed having him around. 

“Hey.” My dad said quietly, cupping my cheek in his hand. I lifted my eyes to stare at his face, the dark circles under his eyes standing out. “Nothing bad is going to happen, okay? I’ll make sure of that. Now you should go get some sleep. You look tired.” 

“Don’t be a hypocrite.” I murmured, reaching forward so I could hug him. “You need sleep too.” 

“Your brain is still developing. Not sleeping will be worse on you than it will me.” 

“Dad...”

“Hey, I’m doing this for your protection.” 

“What, building suits obsessively?” 

“Not obsessively...but you and Pepper are all I have. We’ve seen more than we ever could have imagined in the last few months, I mean you travelled to a different realm.”

“And you flew a nuke into outer space to stop an alien invasion organized by a god, who at one point, thought he was related to my mother.” 

“Exactly.” My dad said, pulling away from me slightly. “But seriously, Skye, get some sleep. Nothing’s going to happen. I’ve got date night with Pepper tonight.” 

“Are you actually going to show up and take her out tonight?” I asked, sliding off the kitchen table.

“I’ll come up with something.” 

“Just don’t do anything lame.” I yelled behind me as I walked back towards my room.

Maybe my dad was right. Maybe nothing bad would happen. But little did I know how wrong we both were. 

.......

_ ‘Your powers are growing, but you have no control.’ I was back out in space this time, standing in front of Thanos’ throne. ‘You have no one to teach you.’  _

_ ‘I’ve been trying to teach myself-’ _

_ ‘But how is that working? Controlling that much power is not something you can teach yourself, because you don’t know what control is. You could move cities, turn the highest mountains into rubble if you wanted. You could have visions of the future without having ‘incidents’ as you call them. Would you like that?’ That would be nice. To be able to have control. ‘I can teach you all that and more.’  _

_ My stomach churned, a chill creeping up my spine. Cold fingers trailed up my arms, cool breath fanning over my ear. ‘Yes, wouldn’t that be nice.’ A velvety voice whispered, cool lips skimming along the shell of my ear.  _

_ My breathing sped up as my chest tightened, arms wrapping around my middle so I couldn’t get away.  _

_ ‘Think about it.’ Thanos said as everything faded to black.  _

I jolted awake, breathing hard as I thought about the dream. I heard a clunk as my lamp bumped into the wall across from me. Everything in my room was floating through the air, except for the bed. This hadn’t happened in months, and I thought I’d gotten a hand on it. I closed my eyes, trying to calm my breathing. 

That didn’t work, as I suddenly found myself pinned to the bed, one of the Iron Man suits leaning over me, gripping my arm tightly. It raised its hand, its repulser glowing. I panicked and did the first thing that came to mind. I screamed. 

I wasn’t quite sure what happened then, and even afterwards I couldn’t tell you. The best way I could describe it would be a giant blast of energy left me, sending everything in the room flying away from me and crashing into the walls. Including the Iron Man suit. It flew back, breaking into several pieces which all landed by the door. I stared down at my shaking hands before jumping to my feet, looking around my now destroyed bedroom. I heard the door open behind me, and hurried footsteps come to a screeching halt. I turned around, staring wide eyed at my dad and Pepper. 

Pepper dodged the various suit parts that were lying on the floor to come stand by me. “Are you okay? Did it hurt you?” 

I shook my head, staring at the floor. I bit my lip to keep the tears in. Pepper pulled me into a hug and I wrapped my arms around her, leaning my head against her shoulder. 

“I must have called it in my sleep.” My dad said, staring at the faceplate of the suit. “It must have sensed the disturbance in here, thought Skye was a threat.” 

Pepper shot my dad a look over the top of my head that I could almost hear, silencing him. I held my tears in, knowing they weren’t going to help anything. My dad’s phone rang down the hall. 

“I’m just going to go grab that.” My dad said, leaving Pepper and I alone. 

Pepper pulled away, staring down at me. “Did it hurt you?” I shook my head. “Are you hurt?” I shook my head again. “Are you okay?” 

“Mentally or physically?” 

She didn’t have time to answer before my dad came rushing back into the room. 

“There was an explosion at the TCL Chinese Theater. Happy just went into emergency surgery.” 

“What?” Pepper asked, but my dad’s eyes were on me, a scared and guilty look on his face. 

“Oh god.” I breathed, looking away from my dad’s face. I had been right. I was having visions of the future. "Starting to believe me now?" 


	42. You Threatened A Terrorist

“Dad!.” I yelled, running down the stairs into the garage. “Dad, what the hell were you thinking?” 

“I was thinking, this ‘Mandarin’ guy needs to be taken care of.” 

“So you gave out our home address on live TV? Dad, do you know how many news helicopters have flown by since yesterday? They’re everywhere.” 

“Yeah, well, we’re on total security lockdown, so there’s nothing to worry about.” 

“Dad, you threatened a terrorist. What if something else happens? What if something else that I saw comes true?” 

“Skye.” He rounded on me, making me take a step back slightly. “Just because you’ve had one ‘vision’ or whatever you want to call it that just so happened to come true, does not mean the others will. If you don’t like the decisions I’ve made then there’s the door, you can leave. In fact it probably would be safer if you left.” 

“You’re so confusing! First you don’t want me to leave, and now you’re telling me to get out? Make up your damn mind, Anthony.” 

“Don’t you speak to me that way. I am your father. You may be 19, but you’re in my house still. My house, my rules. Now there’s the door,” He pointed behind me. “Use it.” 

I stormed away from him, going upstairs to my room. I grabbed my bag, throwing clothes into it. 

“Hey.” Pepper said, leaning in the doorway. “I was just going to tell you to pack a bag. We’re going to take a very long vacation.” 

“I’m not going with you.” I said, wiping the tears from my face, not turning around to look at her. 

“What happened, Skye? Talk to me.” 

I turned around to face her. “I hate it. I hate this whole superhero thing. I hate how it’s changed him. Things were so much easier when he wasn’t almost getting himself killed, or giving out our address to the press. Back when he didn’t care.” 

“I know.” Pepper said, stepping closer to me. “Your dad thinks he’s doing the right thing, but usually his definition of the right thing, usually ends up wrong.” 

“Amen to that.” I murmured. “I just don’t know how much more I can take. How many more stupid decisions that put my life in danger. I need stability. Something I’ve never had, and won’t if I stay here. Like he said, I’m 19. I don’t want to live in his house anymore. I need to get out and live my own life. Make my own decisions for a while.” 

“And I think that’s a smart idea. Where do you plan on going?” 

“I don’t know.” I said, turning back around to finish packing my things. “At least out of California for a while. Maybe New York, Miami...” 

“Washington D.C.?” 

I blushed. “Maybe. I’d be safer with SHIELD than I would be if I stayed with my dad.” 

Pepper nodded. “I know. You’d be safer anywhere away from your dad. I’m not going to make you stay.” She kissed my forehead. “Just promise you’ll visit once this all cools over.” 

“Of course I will. I’m not leaving forever.” The doorbell rang and both Pepper and I inhaled sharply.

“Please tell me that’s not an angry terrorist ready to blow the house up.” Pepper said. 

“I don’t think a terrorist would use the doorbell. I think he’d just blow the house up.” 

“I’m going to go finish packing. If I don’t see you again, good luck. Call me when you get somewhere safe.” 

I nodded, pulling her into a hug. “I will. I’ll keep you updated.” 

I finished packing my bag, grabbing my keys before heading down the stairs. My dad and Pepper were there with another dark haired woman. They were all talking at once which made it hard to make out their conversation. 

“You!” My dad said, making me stop. I was halfway to the stairs down to the garage, and halfway to getting out without being seen. “What do you think you’re doing.” 

Suddenly all eyes were on me. “I’m doing what you said.” 

“What?” 

“You told me to leave, remember?” 

“I never said that.” Either he was playing dumb, or he really didn’t remember. 

“JARVIS, what were his words, exactly?” 

A recording of my dad’s voice came over the speakers. “‘If you don’t like the decisions I made then there’s the door. You can leave. In fact it probably would be safer if you left.’” 

“Oh yeah, I did say that.” My dad mumbled. 

“So I’m doing what you told me to do.” I said, tightening my grip on my bag. “Your house, your rules, remember?” 

“But it would be safer if you stayed with me.” 

“No it wouldn’t. You threatened a terrorist, dad. I’ll be safer on my own.” 

“Where are you going to go, huh? New York? D.C.? To SHIELD? Or I know. To Captain America.” 

“He could keep me safer than you can.” 

“Okay, just calm down.” Pepper said, stepping in the space between us. “Everyone just calm down.” 

“He’s got a longer list of enemies than I do.” 

“Yeah, most of them died 70 years ago. At least he doesn’t go around threatening terrorists.”

“Um, guys.” The dark haired woman interrupted our bickering. “Do we need to be worried about that?” 

I didn’t even see what it was until it hit. 


	43. Tracked

I was thrown back by the force of the explosion, everything seeming to slow as I threw my hands up, trying to block all the rubble that was flying my way from hitting me. I groaned as I hit the ground, the wind getting knocked out of me at the impact. I straightened myself up, looking at the giant hole that was now in the living room. The foundation of the house was cracking under the impact, a piece of cement about to come crashing down on my dad when the Iron Man suit that had been in the living room jumped over him, taking the hit for him. 

I got back to my feet just in time for the second missile to hit. I held my hands out, trying to keep the pieces of rubble from flying all over the place. 

“Move! I’m right behind you!” I heard my dad yell. 

“Dad!” I called out. 

“Skye, run! Get out of here!” 

Part of the floor cracked, leaving a gap between Pepper and my dad. 

“Get her. I’m gonna find a way around.” My dad said. Pepper stood there frozen. “Stop stopping. Get her. Get outside. Go!” 

Pepper, in the Iron Man suit, and I helped the dark haired woman to her feet, Pepper tried to get the repulser to fire to break through the glass door, but she couldn’t get it to work until she had it behind her, sending us flying through the door. I hissed as glass bit into my skin, but I quickly shoved the pain down as a third missile hit, the house shaking and breaking apart at the impact. 

“Oh, my god. Tony!” Pepper yelled, standing up. 

I stood up at the suit began breaking apart, pulling off of Pepper and flying into the house. The helicopters began firing machine guns at the house, and I could only pray that my dad was okay. The three of us watched as two of the helicopters went down, hopefully a sign that my dad was okay and was going to make it out of there. There was an explosion and we watched as part of the house disappeared. 

As soon as everything settled, Pepper rushed into the house. I collapsed back against the stone statue a hand over my mouth as I held in the tears. I should have been more insistent. I knew this was coming. I should have made him leave days earlier. I should have done something about Happy. All of this happened because I was so used to following my dad. To just following what he said, and thinking he would always fix things. But now I didn’t even know if he was alive. I didn’t move from my spot, even as the police and firemen showed up. I had gone numb, not wanting to believe my dad was dead. It was just like the last time I thought I’d never see him again. We had been fighting, and he probably thought I hated him. If he was still alive that is. 

“Hey.” Pepper said, putting her hands on my shoulders, bringing me back to Earth. “We’re gonna go get a hotel room for the night. Get everything else figured out in the morning.” I nodded, letting her lead me to her car. 

I climbed in the backseat, leaning my head against the cool glass window, listening to Pepper talk to the other woman. 

“Why were you at the house tonight? What was so important that you had to speak to Tony?” 

“I think that my boss is working for the Mandarin. So if you still want to talk about it, I suggest we get ourselves someplace safe.” 

“Your boss works for the Mandarin, you think? Tony says you’re a botanist. So...”

“That figures. What I actually am is a biological DNA coder, running a team of 40 out of a privately funded think tank. Sure, you can call me a botanist.” 

“This boss of yours, does he have a name?” 

“Yeah, Aldrich Killian.” 

I drowned them out as Pepper drove, escaping into my own thoughts. I felt guilty that I hadn’t done more. I felt partly responsible for all of this. I just wished I knew of a way to contact my dad. See if he really was okay, and tell him I was sorry. I hadn’t realized I’d fallen asleep until Pepper stopped the car in front of a hotel. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep, or where we were. I got out slowly, the feeling of being watched creeping down my spine. 

“Pepper,” I said, moving around to the driver's side of the car. “I-I need to take a walk.” I said, looking around the area for any suspicious looking people. “I’ll be back later.” 

“Okay, just don’t go too far.” 

I walked a few blocks to the nearest convenience store, grabbing a snickers bar and a soda. The guy working the counter didn’t say anything to me, just gave me a sad look. Right. Everyone thought my dad was dead. I nodded my thanks before slipping out of the store, pulling my hood up over my head. I walked back to the hotel snacking on my snickers. I was so distracted by the candybar that I almost didn’t see the black cars in front of the hotel. The alarm bells in my head went off and I ducked down into the plants beside the driveway. I crawled closer to the hotel so I could see better, quickly ducking behind a fern as a man dressed in all black looked my way. I held my breath, waiting to hear his footsteps getting closer, but none came. I peeked back out, gasping quietly when I saw another man carrying an unconscious Pepper over his shoulder, another blonde man in a grey suit, and the dark haired woman following after him. I knew there was something fishy about her. 

“No sign of the girl.” Another man dressed in black said, following them out of the hotel. 

“She said she was going for a walk. She couldn’t have gotten far.” The woman said. 

“Keep your eyes open.” The man in the suit said.

I waited until they drove away before I came out of my hiding spot. My brain was reeling, but I knew I couldn’t stay there long. I needed to get somewhere safer, and I knew just where to go. 

I found the nearest ATM, drawing out enough money for a plane ticket and a little extra before hailing a cab to the airport. I knew I couldn’t use my dad’s plane, so I had to go old school. My nerves were high as I waited to board the flight to D.C., knowing literally anyone could be tracking my movements. 

.......

**3RD POV**

Maya Hansen sat in the back seat of the SUV beside Killian. 

“If she did manage to escape, where would she go?” Killian asked her. 

“She was talking about D.C. with her dad before the missiles hit. That’s where I would guess. The other would be New York.” Maya was silent for a moment. “Why do you need her so badly? We have Pepper, isn’t that enough?” 

“Skye Stark was given a shot of a highly toxic serum two years ago. It brought out powers that were being suppressed in her mind. Powers that are keeping her alive. If we can figure out how it works, she could be the key to stabilizing Extremis.” Killian pulled out his phone, dialing a number. “Dispatch men to all airports in New York and Washington D.C. Skye Stark will be arriving in one of those locations soon.” He hung up the phone, looking out the window. “And we are going to be her welcoming committee.” 


	44. Where Are The Police?

I noticed them first thing when I landed. Wearing all black in an airport is kind of conspicuous. It’s a miracle security hadn’t taken them out yet, but then again, security could be behind them as well. I knew getting out without being seen would be hard, so I just had to get close enough to the door, then book it from there. I had the cheap phone I’d bought at the airport in my hand, ready to dial the number I’d memorized the whole 5 hour flight. I just had to get out of the airport first, and I saw my opportunity. 

A large, loud family was making their way towards the door, so I moved closer to them, keeping my hood up and covering my face. Thankfully, the airport was pretty full, given it was the holiday season. I was lucky I got a ticket when I did, as it was almost Christmas. Not exactly how I wanted to spend the holidays, running for my life. I managed to slip out of the door unseen, the cold winter air biting at my skin through my thin sweatshirt. I made it almost off the airport property when I heard the shout behind me. I turned just in time to see two men dressed in black start running towards me, so I turned, nearly slipping in the snow, and high tailed it away from the airport. 

I wasn’t sure how far I ran, but it must have been fairly far, as I ended up downtown in some part of D.C. I wasn’t sure if I lost them, or not, so I kept running, trying to dodge around as much as possible, so maybe I could get time enough to hotwire a car and get out of there. 

But I wasn’t that lucky. I had ducked down behind a parked car in a parking lot, only to have the window above me shatter with a gunshot. Great, now they were shooting at me. I dodged through cars as bullets rained past me. I got out of the parking lot, running down a side street to an alleyway, ducking behind a dumpster. 

I pulled out my phone, dialing the number as I tried to catch my breath. My legs hurt and I had a stitch in my side from running. My lungs were burning as I did some deep breathing, praying my call would be answered. 

“Agent Romanov.” 

“Natasha, it’s Skye. I’m in D.C., and I’m being followed.” 

“Hold on, stay on the line. I’m at SHIELD HQ, I’m going to track you, alright? Just try and stay in one spot.” 

I peeked my head out from behind the dumpster, only to get shot in the face. 

“Shit. I gotta move.” 

I took off running down the alley, trying to outrun the bullets behind me. 

“It would be great if we could move a little faster.” I said, running out of the alley and back on the street, dodging through people. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could run. 

“Gotcha.” Natasha said. “Keep going straight, at the next block, turn left. Four blocks down from there, there’s an apartment building on the left side of the street. Second floor, apartment 4. You’ll be safe there.”

“Is there any secret knock I need to know.” I said, ducking behind a parked car for a second t catch my breath. 

“No. Just knock on the door.” 

“Thanks Natasha.” 

“No problem. I’m sending Agents out now to your position in case you don’t make it.” 

“Thanks.” 

I ducked again as more bullets flew over my head. Where were the police? I was only getting shot at halfway across the city. Why hadn’t help come yet? I swallowed the pain in my lungs and took off again, following Nat’s directions. I turned a left, but skidded around the corner when pain shot through my leg. I hit the ground hard, looking back to see a dart sticking out of the back of my thigh. 

“Shit.” I breathed, pushing myself back to my feet. Four blocks. Four blocks and I was safe. 

The adrenaline was pumping too hard, or the dart was weak as I ran the last four blocks, almost running past the apartment building in my haste.

My leg had started to go numb as I limped slowly up the steps, breathing hard, holding the painful stitch in my side. Apartment four. Apartment four. I kept thinking, the staircase seeming like Mount Everest at that point. I stumbled on the landing, catching myself on the balcony before my swimming vision saw apartment four right in front of me. I stumbled, probably looking drunk into the door before knocking, leaning heavily against the frame. My vision was still swimming as the door cracked open, someone peeking out behind it. 

“Agent Romanov sent me here.” I said, my words slurring a little. “My name is-” 

“Skye?” The door opened wider, a familiar red and blue shield the first thing that I noticed before my eyes trailed up the broad shoulders to the face. 

At that point I was seeing four of him, but it was definitely him, whichever one was the real one. I knew those blue eyes anywhere. 

“Hi Steve.” Then everything went black. 


	45. Steve

I felt like I’d been hit by a truck when I woke up. I panicked for a moment, not realizing where I was. The walls were plain white, a couple pictures adorning the walls, but they looked out of place. There wasn’t much by the way of furniture, a closet across from me, a small dresser against the wall to my left under a window letting in sunlight, and a nightstand to my right. The bed was a King, the cream colored sheets smelled clean, and a little like aftershave. I groaned, rolling over to bury my face in the pillow, inhaling the manly scent. The door cracked open and suddenly everything came back to me. The mansion had been destroyed, my dad could possibly be dead, Pepper had been kidnapped and there were people after me. I rolled back over, sitting up, ready to defend myself against whoever it was that opened the door. But my jaw just hit the floor when my eyes landed on him. 

“You’re awake.” He said, setting a glass of water on the nightstand before sitting on the edge of the bed, facing me. “How do you feel.” 

“Strange.” 

Steve smiled a little. “That tranquilizer dart knocked you out pretty good. You’ve been out almost 24 hours. It’s Christmas Day.” 

“Oh, I didn’t mean to impose on your Christmas-” 

“It’s okay. I wasn’t doing anything anyways. Just gonna sit around and watch TV. I bought a ham, and some potatoes, but that’s about my cooking right there.” 

“No one should be alone on Christmas.” I said, tilting my head a little. 

“Well, I’m not now.” 

It was silent between us for a moment. 

“What do you remember?” 

“The mansion was attacked, my dad...I don’t know about him. Everyone says he’s dead, but I don’t know. Pepper and I and some other person I don’t know, but apparently my dad did, went to a hotel in San Diego. I went for a walk and came back and there were people there. The woman was there and they kidnapped Pepper. They were looking for me too but I hid, then few here. They chased me from the airport through town. I called Natasha and she directed me here.” 

“Well you’re safe. SHIELD apprehended the shooters not long after you arrived here.  And your dad’s alive.” 

“What?” 

“There was an attack on Air Force One this morning, and your dad saved a lot of people, but the President was kidnapped.” 

I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing my dad wasn’t dead. “Oh god, he’s probably tried to call me, but I ditched my phone back in San Diego.” 

“You’ll figure out how to get ahold of him.” Steve said, smiling reassuringly at me. “Tony’s got a way of finding out secret things, he’ll figure out where you are, if he doesn’t know already.” 

“That’s true.” I said, taking a drink of my water. I took that time to study the room closer. Oh my god I was in Captain America’s bed. “Oh god, I totally stole your bed, didn’t I?” 

“It’s okay. My couch is actually pretty comfortable.” 

“Yeah, but I’m like half the size of you. I can curl up on a couch easier than you can!” 

“You were knocked out. It was the least I could do, letting you sleep here.” God he was such a gentleman. 

“Well, since I stole your bed, do you need any help with Christmas dinner? I’m not a master chef, but I do know a few things about cooking.” 

“That would be great. The appliances now days are still a little baffling to me.” 

“That’s okay. I can teach you.” 

I took his outstretched hand, letting him pull me up. I stumbled a little, trying to get my feet back under me. His chest was just as solid as I thought it looked, and he was so warm. Oh, pull yourself together. 

Steve’s apartment was fairly modernized, but it still had a classic feel to it. There were bookshelves on every wall covered in books and old records, a record player in the corner, opposite the flat screen TV. The furniture was fairly basic, which was a nice change to the extravagant, modern feel I was used to. It felt homey, which was definitely something I could get used to.

Steve and I made Christmas dinner, an old Bing Crosby record playing in the background. It was nice, having a semi-normal Christmas with someone, despite the fact that my life had changed drastically in the matter of a few days. Things felt right with Steve. A kind of right I couldn’t explain. I felt at home with him, even though we barely knew each other. 

We sat and watched Elf as we ate dinner. I had to explain some things to Steve, but for the most part, it was the most fun I’d had in a long time. I didn’t have to worry about my dad, or my powers, or the nightmares, or anything else. It was just me and him and it was perfect. 

“We interrupt this broadcast to bring you breaking news. There has been a massive explosion on the impounded oil tanker  _ Norco.  _ The cause of the explosion is unknown, but our sources say the Mandarin had taken President Ellis there. President Ellis is alive and unharmed, thanks to the Iron Patriot himself, Colonel James Rhodes. Vice President Rodriguez has been arrested for conspiring in the kidnapping of President Ellis, and actor Trevor Slattery has been arrested for impersonating the Mandarin.” 

Steve and I looked at each other and I breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, I’m glad that’s over. Now I just have to figure out how to contact my dad.” 

“Don’t worry. You’ll figure it out.” Steve said, squeezing my hand for a moment before turning back to the TV. 

Steve refused to let me sleep on the couch that night, saying he didn’t want to wake me when he went out for his morning jog. It took me a while to get back to sleep, partly because I was laying in Steve Rogers’ bed, and partly because I wanted to call my dad. To find out if he and Pepper were okay, and ask what happened. I finally drifted off around midnight, burying my face in Steve’s pillow, breathing in his scent.

I woke up early the next morning, but Steve was still gone, probably still running. After what had happened Christmas Eve, I really didn’t want to run again in my life. But I knew that wouldn’t happen. I looked around the kitchen, finally stumbling across the ingrediants to make pancakes. I started prepping the batter, knowing Steve could be home any time soon. 

The door creaked open just as I thought that, the batter almost ready. Steve came in, wearing a tight t-shirt and sweatpants. 

“Hey, have a nice run?” I asked as he went to the fridge to grab some water. 

“Yeah.” He breathed before almost chugging a whole bottle. 

“I uh, thought I’d make breakfast since I just kinda imposed on you suddenly. It’s the least I could do.” 

“I haven’t had anyone cook for me in a long time.” He said, moving towards me. “I’m gonna shower, and then we can eat.” He leaned down, pressing a quick kiss to my cheek before leaving the kitchen. 

I stood there in shock for a moment. He’d just kissed my cheek. Steve Rogers had kissed my cheek. It had seemed so...normal. So domestic. I wasn’t even sure he realized he’d done it. It made my stomach flutter and a smile to form on my face. I think I could get used to this. 


	46. He Has The Worst Timing

I ended up making a huge stack of pancakes, scrambled eggs and I cut up a couple bananas to put in the pancakes. It felt good, being able to cook food for someone else who would actually eat it. Steve came out of the shower in a pair of jeans and a fitted t-shirt. I had to try hard not to stare as I put the plates of food on the small table. 

Steve ate like a machine. Literally. He just kept going and going. At least I didn’t have to worry about leftovers. It must have to do with the serum. Or the fact he was insanely fit. His eyes met mine and I realized I’d been staring. I blushed, looking back down at my plate. 

“What?” Steve asked, his smile showing in his voice. 

“You cut your hair.” I said, looking back up at him. 

“Yeah, I figured I’d try to at least look like I’m fitting in with these times.” 

“Well, 70 years is a long time. It can take a little time to get used to it.” 

“I’m still totally clueless.” He said, shaking his head. 

“Well, I can help with that.” 

We ended up on the couch as I tried to get him as caught up as I could in a short amount of time. He had a laptop but he said he’d only used it once. I tried to teach him how to use it, and the magic of google. I focused mainly on history, throwing in a few pop culture references. Just the important ones though. 

We started with a good foot and a half of space between us, and by the end of the day we were side by side. He was so warm, and so comforting to be around it had my stomach in knots every time we touched. We eventually ended up facing each other on the couch, talking more about ourselves. It was nearing dinner time, but neither of us wanted to move. We were far too comfortable. 

“I have a question.” I said. “During the battle, when I tried to kill you...why did you kiss me?” 

He blushed clear down his neck, even his ears turning red. But I knew I was blushing just as much. “I saw it in a movie once, and I didn’t know if it would work, honestly. It was just the first thing that came to mind.” 

“Well, it worked.” I said smiling. “And, honestly, I’m glad you did it.” 

He smiled at me, sending my heart fluttering. “I’m kind of glad too.” He said, stretching his arm over the back of the couch. If I moved an inch to the right he would be touching me. It was so tempting. 

“And, uh,” I bit my lip, ducking my head a little. “I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to do it sometime again.” 

He scooted closer to me, bringing his hand to cup my chin, his thumb ghosting along my bottom lip. “What about right now?” He whispered, looking from my eyes to my lips and back again. 

“Right now would work.” I said, shifting a little so I could scoot closer to him. 

He cupped my cheek, leaning forward. I met him halfway, my eyes fluttering shut as our lips met, the very ends of my nerves tingling. It was like the 4th of July in my head as we kissed. It was soft, gentle, tender, caring. I cupped his face as he shifted slightly, the kiss becoming more intense. Steve’s arms wrapped around my waist, bringing me closer to him as we broke away for a second, our foreheads touching. I was just about to kiss him when my phone started buzzing. I turned away from him to stare at my phone, my hands still on his face, breathing hard from a lack of air. I reached over, grabbing it from the coffee table, Steve’s hands immediately leaving my waist. I felt empty now, like there was something missing. 

“Hello?” 

_ ‘Skye?’  _

“Dad?” I straightened up, my heart pounding harder than it already was. 

_ ‘Thank god.’  _ My dad breathed, sounding relieved.  _ ‘I was so worried. I didn’t know where you were and your phone was shut off, and Pepper said you’d gone for a walk and you hadn’t returned when Killian showed up.’  _

“Yeah, I uh saw them and hid, then took the first flight I could get to D.C.” 

_ ‘You’re still in D.C.?’ _

“Yeah. I’ve found a safe place for now.” I said, looking over at Steve who smiled at me. 

_ ‘Good. Killian’s dead, Pepper’s gonna be okay, I’m alive, we saved the President, and you made it without getting kidnapped.’  _

“I know. I’m getting good at avoiding that now.”

_ ‘So, I’m going into surgery tomorrow.’  _

“What? Why? What’s wrong?” 

_ ‘Nothing. I’ve just decided to have the shrapnel in my chest removed and the arc reactor taken out. I’m doing it in New York tomorrow afternoon.’  _

“You’re sure?” 

_ ‘Yeah. I’ve had it in there long enough. And I’ll always be Iron Man.’  _

“Well, I wanna be there! I’ll see if I can get on the next flight to New York.” 

_ ‘Nonsense, I’ll send the jet.’  _

“Dad, you don’t have to send the jet just to fly me 200 miles north. It’s literally an hour trip.” 

_ ‘You’re forgetting that’s why I own a private jet. To fly me and anyone I wish 200 miles for important reasons. I’ll have it in D.C. in two hours. Oh, and you’re totally staying with Steve, aren’t you?’ _

“No...Okay, yes.” 

_ ‘You were making out when I called, weren’t you?’  _

“Dad!” I said, blushing a little. 

_ ‘I knew it. You had the voice.’ _

“There’s a voice?”

_ ‘Yeah. And I’ve decided to recognize that you are an adult and you can make your own decisions. Just make sure to use a condom. Maybe we should get you started on birth control...’  _

I blushed. “Oh my god, dad, stop talking!” 

_ ‘Sorry. Just looking out for you. So the jet will be there in two hours to get you and fly you to New York.’  _

“Are you sure I need to leave now? It’s an hour flight, dad.” 

_ ‘Yeah, but I wanna see you and talk to you. The last time we saw each other, it wasn’t under the best circumstances.’  _

“I know. So I’ll see you in about three hours?” 

_ ‘Yup. I’ll have someone pick you up from Steve’s apartment. And I’ll be at the airport. Well, someone will be there.’  _

“Alright, I’ll see you.” 

I hung up, putting my phone back on the coffee table before sinking back into the couch. 

“He has the worst timing.” I said. 

Steve turned my face towards his, pressing his lips against mine. “So you’re leaving, huh?” He said, pulling back slightly so he was looking me in the eyes, his thumb stroking my cheek. 

“Yeah, my dad’s having surgery tomorrow afternoon to get the arc reactor taken out and the shrapnel removed from his chest. Apparently he needs to fly me there now.” I was a little disappointed. “He said someone would be here to pick me up, lord knows how he makes that happen.” 

“I’ll ride with you to the airport.” Steve said, standing up. 

“You don’t have to do that.” I said.

“No, I don’t. But I want to. I’ll even go to New York with you.” 

“Steve, you don’t have to do that. What if SHIELD needs you?” 

“It’s the holidays. They can get by without me for one day.” 


	47. Dad's Are Embarrassing

****

Steve looked a little intimidated by the fact he was in a private jet, but I quickly reassured him that he was okay, holding his hand pretty much through the entire flight. I was a little nervous as we landed at the airport, squeezing Steve’s hand tighter before we exited the plane. I ran over to my dad, almost knocking him to the ground when I hugged him, holding on tightly. I held back the tears, not wanting to ever let him go.  

“I’m sorry.” I whispered, burying my face in his shoulder. “I’m so, so sorry.” 

“Shh.” My dad said, holding me tighter. “You’re not the one that should be saying sorry.” 

I pulled away from him. “Everyone was saying you were dead. I-I didn’t want to believe them.” 

“I know. But I’m not dead. I’m here.” I hugged him again, holding on tightly. My dad straightened up a little but, and I had almost forgotten about Steve. “Cap.” 

“Mr. Stark.” 

“You brought him with you?” My dad asked, pulling away from me. 

“He offered to come, and he can be very headstrong.” 

“Right.” My dad said, looking between us for a moment. “I think the word you’re looking for is persuasive, but I’m not going to go there.” 

“Dad!” I said, my cheeks burning as he got into the back of the car. 

I followed him in, ended up in the middle between him and Steve. I had to resist taking Steve’s hand on our drive to the tower, barely listening as my dad retold the story of what happened after the attack at the mansion. My dad rambled on as I turned to Steve, smiling up at him before turning back to stare at the floor of the car. I didn’t know what to make of what I felt towards Steve. I didn’t want to call it love, but then again, I wasn’t quite sure what love was. 

We took the elevator up to the top of Stark Tower where Pepper was waiting for us. I ran to her, hugging her tightly, getting barraged by questions at the same time. 

“Pepper, I’m fine.” 

“But where did you disappear to? I thought they’d gotten you too. I was so worried.” 

I turned, looking at Steve. “I went somewhere safe.” 

“Oh.” Pepper said, finally spotting Steve. 

“Pepper, this is Steve Rogers. Steve, this is Pepper Potts. The closest thing I’ve had to a mother.” 

“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” Steve said, nodding his head respectively. 

“It’s an honor, Captain.” Pepper said, taking a moment to look between us, a knowing look in her eyes. “Tony, you should really get some sleep. As should the rest of us.” 

“I’m going to be under for hours, I don’t need sleep.” My dad said, but was quickly silenced by a look from both Pepper and I. “Or I could take a quick nap.” 

“Thought so.” Pepper said. “There’s plenty of guest rooms, Steve. Make yourself at home. We’re going to bed, goodnight Skye. Nice meeting you, Steve.” 

“Yes, plenty of  _ guest  _ rooms.” My dad said before Pepper dragged him off. 

“Oh god. That’s so embarrassing.” I said, facepalming. 

“It’s alright.” Steve said, a smile on his face. 

“Are you hungry? Thirsty?” I said, walking towards the kitchen. “Tired?” I pulled a tub of ice cream from the freezer. “Ice cream?” I asked, handing him a spoon. 

“You’re just gonna eat it from the tub?” 

“Yeah. No one else is gonna touch it. Same with my peanut butter.” 

“Sure.” Steve said, taking the spoon from my hand. 

I moved from the kitchen to the sitting area, flipping on the TV before plopping down on a couch. Steve followed me, sitting down beside me. 

“JARVIS, find me a movie.” 

The TV changed channels, finally stopping on The Fellowship of the Ring. 

“JARVIS?” Steve asked. 

“Yeah, my dad’s AI. He kinda runs everything. My dad would be lost without him.” 

“Pleasure to meet you, Captain Rogers.” JARVIS said. 

Steve looked around at the ceiling for a moment. “That’s so weird. But kind of nice.” 

“Yeah, I guess it would be if you’re not used to it. I grew up with JARVIS around, so it’s just kind of a habit for me.” 

I went to dig my spoon into the ice cream, but was stopped by a pair of lips on mine. It was a short, quick kiss, but it still left me breathless. 

“What was that for?” I asked, looking into Steve’s bright blue eyes. 

“You introduced me as Steve Rogers and not Captain America.” 

“Yeah. I don’t go around introducing my dad as Iron Man either, but then again most people know who my dad is already.” 

“It’s nice, being thought of as a person, and not just a superhero or american icon.” 

“Well, you are an american icon. And a superhero. But I know you as more than that. I know you as Steve, even though we haven’t known each other for long.” I took a big mouthful of ice cream before turning back to the TV. 

“That’s a nice change.” Steve said, copying my motion. “Something I could get used to.” 

Steve and I watched TV into the early hours of the morning, when I eventually fell asleep on his shoulder. He was so warm and so comforting to have around, something I could get used to as well. But unfortunately, with sleep came nightmares. Or visions. Or whatever you wanted to call them. 

_ ‘Have you made your decision?’ Thanos asked me, staring down at me from his throne.  _

_ I hadn’t. I tried not to think about my dreams too much, especially given everything that happened.  _

_ ‘You know you could have avoided everything that happened.’  _

_ I could have. But, I would have been stuck with my dad who was working himself to death, all while trying to figure out what was going on with my powers. And I wouldn’t have found Steve either. And now I knew I couldn’t leave all of that behind. Sure my dad could be an ass, but he was my dad, and almost losing him twice in one year was too much. I couldn’t stand the thought of not having my dad there, a phone call away. And Steve. I knew I couldn’t leave Steve behind. Maybe I did love him, in the short amount of time we’d spent together.  _

_ ‘You will regret this decision.’ Thanos said, straightening up on his throne, an angry look on his face. ‘All of them will die before the end, and I will save you for last, so you can see what you’ve caused.’ He looked past me, at something I wasn’t sure I wanted to see.  _

_ I turned around, finding the dead bodies of the Avengers around me. I clapped a hand over my mouth, tears falling down my face as I looked at their lifeless faces. Especially the cracked Iron Man faceplate, my dad’s lifeless eyes staring up into the stars above us. And Steve’s eyes, staring right at me, asking why I had to bring this on them. I felt pain in my stomach, looking down to see a familiar Chitauri spear sticking through my stomach.  _

_ ‘You will all die in the end.’  _

I shot up on the couch, breathing hard. It took me a moment to realize that it was only a dream, and it wasn’t going to really happen. Or was it? So far two of the vision’s I’d had came true. But then again, that could have been Thanos’ doing. 

“Hey, you okay?” I flinched slightly when a warm hand touched my back, but quickly relaxed. 

Steve had moved us since I fell asleep on his shoulder. He was sitting at the end of the couch, and my head had been in his lap before I’d woken up from the dream. There was a blanket covering my legs, and the TV had gone to some infomercial. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down a little. 

“Yeah, just...” I shook my head, not even knowing what to call it. 

“Nightmares? I get them too.” I pulled the blanket closer around me before scooting to Steve’s side, curling up against his solid warmth. “Not all the time, but occasionally. You just have to tell yourself that they’re just nightmares.” 

Yeah, just nightmares. 

Steve came with us to the hospital, mostly to offer me moral support. It wasn’t a major surgery, but there was still a chance that something could go wrong. Rhodey came as well, to offer his support, since this was such a big decision. 

The four of us stood by the glass, waiting for the surgery to start. My dad gave us a thumbs up before he went under, making me take Steve’s hand to calm my nerves. I knew Pepper was just as nervous as me, but my dad was strong. He’d get through this. Things were changing for the better. I looked up to Steve and he smiled reassuringly down at me. Indeed they were. 

 


	48. Surgery

Steve and I sat in the waiting room while they got my dad all set up in a room. We were still holding hands, Steve’s thumb lightly circling over my knuckles, trying to calm my nerves. 

“So, I suppose you could head back to D.C. at any time. You can use the jet. It’ll be a little less conspicuous. More private.” 

“Well, I’m not in any hurry. SHIELD hasn’t called yet, so there’s no need to go rushing home.” I leaned my head on his shoulder. “What are you going to do after this?” 

I frowned a little. “I don’t know. Probably stay at the tower. It’ll be the safest place for me, especially dealing with my powers.” 

“You know, you’re always welcome to stay with me.” 

I straightened up, turning to face him. “What?” 

“I’ve got an extra room, it’s not much, but I can clean it out, get it set up.” He shrugged. “I’ve liked not being alone all the time, and I really enjoy your company. I mean, it’s entirely up to you, but my apartment’s always open to you.” 

I probably looked like a fish right then, my mouth opening and closing several times. I didn’t know what to say. Part of me was screaming “Yes!” and tackling him to the ground and kissing him. But another part knew how dangerous that could be. With my powers, and the possibility of one of SHIELD’s enemies finding out about us...but I knew I couldn’t just leave him and pretend like nothing had happened, because something had. There was something between us, and there was no denying it. And I knew he felt it too. 

“Steve...I-I...I can pay rent, I can help-” 

“Hey, SHIELD owns the apartment, so I don’t even have to pay rent. You wouldn’t have to worry about anything. I can keep you safe.” He took my other hand so he was holding them both. 

I looked into his beautiful blue eyes, a small smile forming on his face. I nodded slowly. “Okay. I’ll come live with you.” 

A full smile formed on his face and he leaned forward, pressing his lips against mine. Our kiss didn’t last long, a throat clearing breaking us apart. I looked up at Rhodey and Pepper, a blush coming over my cheeks. 

“You can go see your dad now.” Pepper said, eyeing both of us. 

I nodded, squeezing Steve’s hand before getting up. 

“Go easy on him.” I said as I went past Rhodey who had his arms crossed over his chest. 

My dad was awake when I went in, staring up at the ceiling.

“Hey dad.” I said, moving over to the bedside. 

“Hey sweetheart.” 

“How do you feel?” 

“Numb.” He smiled a little. “But better, knowing there’s possible not something inside me that could kill me.” 

“Again.” 

“Again.” He reached out, taking my hand, squeezing it tightly. “I want you to be happy, Skye. I really do. But that doesn’t mean I won’t keep being protective of you. That’s what dad’s are supposed to do. I know I’ve been doing a crappy job, and I’ve said that a lot, but I do want the best for you.” 

I nodded. “I know. Which is why I’m going back to D.C. with Steve.” 

“Don’t tell me you’re joining SHIELD too.” 

“No, he needs a roommate, and I need to get away for a while.” My dad gave me a look. “What?” 

“I can’t stop you from doing that. If I felt up to it, I would give him a very long talk, but right now I just want to sleep.” 

“Don’t worry, Rhodey’s taking care of that for you” 

“Good to know he’s still got my back. But if that’s what will make you happy, then go for it. Just be safe, use protection-” 

“God, dad! Everything’s not always about sex. Steve just...makes me happy. Being around him...I feel like I don’t have to fight to keep control of my powers.” 

My dad nodded. “It sounds like you might love him.” 

I scoffed. “I’m 19. I don’t know what love is yet. We’re not even in a relationship. We’re just...friends.” I couldn’t help but sound a little disappointed by that. 

My dad squeezed my hand again. “Maybe one day you won’t be. I don’t exactly like the idea of you living with a guy who’s older than you who isn’t me, but maybe it’s the morphine talking, but if he makes you happy then I’m not going to keep you apart. Just call me the second he tries anything.” 

“Dad, Steve’s too much of a gentleman for that.”    
“That’s true.” His eyes were drooping closed.

“Get some sleep, Dad.” I said, kissing his forehead. “I’ll be here when I wake up.” 

My dad was released from the hospital a week later, and made sure he drove Steve and I back to the airport. He made Steve sit in the front with him while I sat in the back, having to listen to the painfully awkward conversation happening between them. It was mostly my dad being protective and going on and on about how he could smash Steve like a fly if he ever hurt me, and how he would know if something happened to me, and so on. 

I was almost glad once Steve and I were on the jet, Steve finally getting a break from my dad’s attempts at intimidating him. But Steve was a complete gentleman and listened to him without complaint. I knew he would never hurt me intentionally. And he’d be damn well sure I’d stay away from anything that could hurt me. 

 


	49. Life In D.C.

Steve and I spent the next few weeks setting up the guest room. My dad paid for everything, saying it was a housewarming gift. Steve and I settled into a routine, not taking long to get ourselves settled in. When he was home, and wasn’t on a mission, he’d get up early, go for a run, and I’d have breakfast ready when he came back. Then I’d work on getting him as caught up as I could, sometimes taking him out to go do stuff. Part of my dad’s housewarming gift was a new Audi, which kind of stuck out, parked on the street, but that was okay. I was living with Captain America for goodness sakes. 

So far we’d been able to keep ourselves hidden from the press, but I knew it was only a matter of time before someone found out, granted my dad didn’t let it leak first. I always made sure we kept ourselves disguised when we went out, both for my privacy and his. 

Steve and I had gotten more and more comfortable with each other as the weeks went on. Kissing me on the cheek had become a regular thing, as did wrapping his arm around me when we watched TV together. He was still a complete gentleman, but I knew things were progressing, and I was okay with that. 

Steve had been away all week, and I had been binging on take out, not wanting to cook for just myself. So when he called, saying he’d be home tonight, I ran out to the store to get something for dinner. I decided on spaghetti and meatballs to keep it easy on myself. I didn’t see it until I was in the checkout line, staring at one of the stupid gossip magazines. There, on the front cover was my name, with a picture of me and Steve when we went out a week ago before his mission. You couldn’t see Steve’s face, but it was definitely me. 

“Skye Stark’s New Guy?” The headline said. 

I snatched the magazine off the rack, throwing it in with my groceries, hoping to get out of there before anyone noticed me. I drove back to Steve’s apartment, lugging the groceries up the stairs in one trip, not wanting to stay on the street for too long. Steve still wasn’t back, the apartment unusually silent, like it was when he was gone. I worried about his safety a lot, not wanting him to come back battered, or in a body bag. I wasn’t sure what I would do if he died. 

I had been having nightmares again, every time I tried to sleep, some horrible vision would plague me and I’d end up a sweaty, shaky mess in the morning. I tried everything, even stealing one of Steve’s shirts out of the laundry to sleep with, but nothing worked. The nightmares would still come, and I’d end up a mess. 

The sound of the door opening tore me from my thoughts, the heavy thump of Steve’s shield hitting the floor echoing from the doorway. 

“Hey.” Steve said, putting his bag down by the table before wrapping his arms around me in a hug. He smelled, but I didn’t care. I buried my face in his shirt regardless. “Smells good.” He said, leaning down to kiss me, before straightening up. 

“Go take a shower. It’ll be ready when you get out.” 

Steve went to shower as I finished up dinner, piling one plate full of spaghetti, and the other a tenth of the way full compared to the other. I knew Steve would be hungry, and I had enough food to hopefully fill him up. I moved the dishes to the table, the bathroom door opening as soon as I had everything ready. Steve came out in a t-shirt and sweatpants, water still dripping from his hair as he tried to towel it dry, tossing the towel in the laundry room before coming over to the table. 

“It looks great.” He said, pressing a kiss to my cheek before sitting in his chair. “I’m starving.” 

“I knew you would be.” I said, sitting in my spot on his right. 

We ate mostly in silence, Steve telling me everything he could about his mission, which was pretty vague, since they were all classified missions. He’d been working a lot with Nat, who had been over a couple times for dinner since I’d moved in. I trusted her to keep him safe, and she trusted him to keep me safe. 

After dinner, Steve went straight to bed, exhausted after such a long trip. I didn’t blame him, heading that way myself not long after I finished cleaning the kitchen. I was tired from the emotional toll that Steve being away caused. I literally passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow, not even bothering to pull my blankets over me. 

_ I was laying next to Steve in his bed. We were both on our backs, our shoulders touching.  _

_ ‘What are we Steve?’ I asked, looking up at the ceiling.  _

_ ‘What do you mean?’ He asked, turning to look at me.  _

_ ‘I mean, we were friends I guess, and then we’re kind of dating, but we’re also roommates, and...I don’t know.’ _

_ He was silent for a moment, and I was scared I’d said the wrong thing. ‘What do you want us to be?’ He asked finally.  _

_ It was my turn to be silent. Did I say just friends? Or did I spill my feelings to him and risk him telling me to get out? ‘I care about you.’ I finally said. ‘More than I should, probably, but I don’t care. Every time you leave on a mission, I’m scared you won’t come back. I’m scared every phone call is Nat telling me you’re dead, or its SHIELD telling me you’re MIA, or you were kidnapped. But I can’t stay away. Ever since the first time you kissed me, I’ve known there’s something between us. There’s a connection, unlike anything I’ve ever felt. It almost feels like...’  _

_ ‘Like magic?’  _

_ ‘Yes. Exactly.’ I turned my head so I was looking at him finally. Even in the dark I could still see his eyes shining. ‘And I don’t ever want it to end.’  _

_ He cupped my cheek, leaning forward to kiss me. ‘Good. Because I don’t want it to either.’  _

_ I rolled on my side, our kiss becoming more and more heated. For being on ice for 70 years, he still knew what he was doing. Or I was just inexperienced. That could have been it too.  _

_ Steve rolled over so he was hovering over me, his firm body pressing against mine. ‘Tell me you’ll be my girl.’ He whispered against my lips before pulling away so he was looking down at me. ‘Tell me you’ll be mine.’  _

_ I smiled, lacing our fingers together. ‘I’m yours. Forever.’  _


	50. Be My Girl?

I shot up in bed, breathing hard from my dream. I wasn’t quite sure what had woken me up at first until I heard it again. A pained whimper, followed by a groan coming from the room next to mine. I slid out of bed, softly padding out of my room and to the door next to mine. It was unlocked, as he liked to keep it that way in case anything happened. I slowly pushed it open, finding Steve tossing and turning, the sheets kicked off onto the floor as he whimpered again in his sleep. 

“Buck, no.” He breathed out before rolling over so he was facing my direction. 

As I got closer, I could see the sweat that had formed on his skin, his t-shirt sticking to the perspiration. 

“Steve?” I whispered softly, still standing over him. “Steve?” I tried a little louder. 

I reached my hand out to touch his shoulder, when his hand shot up, grabbing my wrist. It wasn’t a tight grip, but firm enough to prove a point. His eyes snapped open, moving around the room before settling on my face. It took him a moment, but the fog cleared, and he released my wrist. He rolled over on his back and I sat down on the side of the bed. 

“Nightmare?” I asked as he wiped the sweat from his brow. 

He nodded, clearing his throat. “During the war.” 

Most of his nightmares took place before he froze. Things during the war, things before the war. He usually didn’t go into too much detail, but it was his choice whether he wanted to tell me or not. I certainly didn’t tell him all of my dreams and nightmares. Like the one I was just having before he woke me up. 

“Well, I’ll go back to bed, knowing you’re okay.” I went to get up, but a hand on my arm stopped me. 

“Stay, just for a little bit?” I couldn’t say no to the look on his face. So I laid down on my back next to him so we were shoulder to shoulder. 

“His name was Bucky.” Steve said after a few moments of silence. “He was my best friend.” Steve told me about Bucky, and what happened in the war, and how he saved Bucky from HYDRA. “I should have gone looking for him. I shouldn’t have just left him there. What if he was still alive, but died there because I didn’t look?” 

“Hey.” I said, turning to face him. “He fell hundreds of feet from a train. It’s probably better you didn’t find your best friend’s body. At least this way that’s not the last memory you have of him. You can still remember the good times.” 

He smiled a little and I rolled back over on my back. “You’re right. I always wonder what happened to all of them after the war. I know we won, but I don’t know who else we lost, how many we lost. Life would have been so different had I not been on that plane. Had I not been frozen alive.” 

“A lot more people would have died, had you not done what you did.” I said, squeezing his hand. “Life would be different now if you didn’t sacrifice yourself back then.” 

“I wouldn’t have you.” He said, and I felt his eyes on me. I kept my eyes on the ceiling, thinking back to my dream. 

I felt the words leave my mouth, but I couldn’t hold them in.  “What are we Steve?”

“What do you mean?” He asked, turning to look at me.

I knew what was coming, but I couldn’t stop the words. “I mean, we were friends I guess, and then we're kind of dating, but we're also roommates, and...I don't know.”

He was silent for a moment, but this time I wasn’t scared. I knew what was coming. “What do you want us to be?” He asked finally.

It was silent for a moment. I knew what I was going to say, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to say it. I knew what would happen when I did, I didn’t have that to worry about, but it was still nerve wracking. What if my dream was wrong, and he didn’t feel the same way. I didn’t know if I could handle that kind of rejection. I swallowed my nerves, finally deciding to go with what I knew. “I care about you.'More than I should, probably, but I don't care. Every time you leave on a mission, I'm scared you won't come back. I'm scared every phone call is Nat telling me you're dead, or its SHIELD telling me you're MIA, or you were kidnapped. But I can't stay away. Ever since the first time you kissed me, I've known there's something between us. There's a connection, unlike anything I've ever felt. It almost feels like...” I trailed off, wanting to see if I was right. 

“Like magic?”

I couldn’t help the smile. “Yes. Exactly.” I turned my head so I was looking at him. Even in the dark I could still see his eyes shining. “And I don't ever want it to end.”

He cupped my cheek, leaning forward to kiss me. “Good. Because I don't want it to either.” He whispered against my lips. 

I rolled on my side, our kiss becoming more and more heated. For being on ice for 70 years, he still knew what he was doing. Or I was just inexperienced. That could have been it too.

Steve went to roll over, but I stopped him, taking a moment to breathe. “As much as I want to, I don’t want to move too fast. I just want to take it slow and steady, and do what feels right.”

Steve nodded, smiling at me. “Good. I can respect that. Otherwise your dad will squash me like a fly.” 

“He did say that, didn’t he?” I said. 

Steve pressed his lips against mine again. “Tell me you'll be my girl.' He whispered against my lips before pulling away so he was looking at me. “Tell me you'll be mine.” 

I smiled, tracing his jaw, up to his cheekbones. “I’ll be your girl.” I pecked his lips. “I’ll be yours.” 

He kissed me again, cupping my cheek in his hand before he broke away, sitting up. “Stay with me tonight?” He asked, looking down on me. 

“Of course.” I said, making myself comfortable. 

Steve pulled the blankets back on the bed, covering us up before he turned so his back was to me. I snuggled up to his warm, muscular back, not able to wipe the smile off my face. I threw my arm over his waist, snuggling closer if that was possible. He laced our fingers together, kissing my knuckles before I fell back asleep, more comfortable than I’d been in a long time. 


	51. Hidden Struggles

I jolted awake when Steve’s alarm went off. I hadn’t been dreaming, which was an unusual change. Steve and I had moved around, Steve ending up on his back, while I was on my side, my back to him. I felt the bed shift as he turned the alarm off before he rolled back over. One of his arms slipped under my neck, the other wrapping around my waist so we were spooning again. He kept a distance between our hips, but I could still feel the warmth radiating off him. 

“Aren’t you going for your run?” I asked, shifting a little closer to him. 

“It can wait.” He murmured, nuzzling the back of my head. 

I laced my fingers with his, holding his hand to my chest as I snuggled down, falling back asleep. I woke up what felt like five minutes later when Steve’s phone rang. Both of us groaned, Steve letting my hand go so he could roll over to pick it up. 

“Hello?” Silence. “An hour?” I rolled onto my back, my head laying on his arm still. “Okay, I’ll be there.” He hung up, tossing his phone back on the nightstand. He sighed, running a hand over his face. 

“Another mission?” I asked, looking up at him from the corner of my eye. 

He rolled over so he was on his side, leaning over me, his free hand going to my waist. I cupped his cheek as he leaned down, pressing his lips against mine.    
“I really wanted to spend the day in bed with my best girl, but SHIELD can’t even give me that.” He said, bumping his nose against mine gently. 

“Hey, you could be saving a lot of lives going on this mission to wherever you’re going, to do whatever it is you’re going to do.” 

He laughed before pressing his lips against mine again. His kiss got more and more passionate, his tongue darting out to lick along my bottom lip. I gave him access, his body moving over mine as we explored each other. My hands tangled in his soft hair as his hand slid down my waist to my hip. We broke away, panting, our foreheads leaning together. 

“Don’t worry.” I said, running my thumbs over his cheekbones. “I’ll still be here when you get back.” 

He kissed me softly one last time before getting out of bed, grabbing his uniform from the closet. I watched as he moved around the room, grabbing things and sticking them in his duffle bag. He leaned down, pressing a kiss to my forehead. 

“I’ll see you in a few days, doll, okay?” 

I blushed a little at the pet name, but nodded, curling up in his bed as he left, listening as the front door shut, the lock clicking into place. It seemed like when everything was going right, we’d get interrupted. I sighed, pulling his sheets tighter around me and burying my face in his pillow. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I thought about everything that had happened over the past few hours. It had started with a nightmare, and now he was calling me doll, all in the matter of a few hours. But it was perfect. 

It became routine for us, Steve spending as much time as he could with me when he wasn’t on a mission. We usually ended up making out on the couch. We never went further, Steve not one for pushing too far. He was such a gentleman. I talked to my dad every week as well. He’d keep me updated on everything, and I’d tell him about life with Steve. He still asked if I’d slept with him yet, which I reassured him that no, Captain America hadn’t tarnished what was left of his daughter’s honor. Granted I would probably be the one instigating if it ever happened. Steve was too much of a gentleman. And then there were the flashbacks. 

It was a miracle I’d gotten as far as I did with Steve before they started. We’d been together almost five months, living together for six, when I’d wanted to take things a step further. But as soon as Steve even got close to getting my shirt off, it started. It got hard to breathe as images of what happened flashed through my mind. I couldn’t bring myself to shake them, the panic setting in as it suddenly became Loki instead of Steve. I’d get sick to my stomach and always ended up ruining the moment. 

Then the doubts started seeping in. Would Steve really want to stay with a girl who couldn’t do more than kiss? Hell, I couldn’t even get my shirt off, let alone go further than that. I mean, we slept in the same bed most nights when he was home, curling around each other, a mess of limbs, always having to be connected somewhere. But I couldn’t sleep with him. How much longer could this last? 

It always brought me down, thinking of it. It was shocking, thinking about it, how much one single person had ruined my life so badly. I’d almost died because of him, I couldn’t sleep at night, and now I couldn’t even have sex without thinking of what he did. I was angry, stressed, and I just wanted to be okay. But I wasn’t. 

Steve reassured me that it was okay, that he’d wait until I was ready. But how long would that be? Would we ever reach that point. Thoughts like that had started pulling me away from him. We weren’t as close as we were before. When the reality of the situation hit me, the shame and the anger set in, and I found myself scared to be close to him. I knew he’d never hurt me like Loki did, and I knew he’d take care of me, but I was still scared, panicky and kind of pathetic. He was so calm and collected, always calming me down, reassuring me when things went too far and I’d start panicking. He was an angel, but I was too blinded by the devil to see it.


	52. Jupiter Island

Steve's birthday was a week away and I wanted to do something special. But I wasn't quite sure what yet. I wanted to make it special, since it was the 4th of July, but I didn't want it to be too predictable.

Steve was on his last mission before he got a break for his birthday. I'd made him request it a month ago since I knew I wanted to spend time with him. Steve had only been getting a few days between missions, not really giving us much time to ourselves. I thought about staying in D.C., but that limited our options. Then I got an idea.

"Hey, dad, can I ask a favor?"

' _What do you need now?'_ He sounded annoyed, but I knew he was being over-dramatic.

"You still have the house on Jupiter Island, right?"

' _Yes...'_

"Can Steve and I use it next week? It's his birthday and I want to get out of the city for a while-"

' _I'll have the housekeeper leave a key under the doormat. Just make sure you don't get drunk and destroy it.'_

Such a hypocrite. "Like what you did on your birthday?"

' _That was different. I thought I was dying.'_

"Uh huh. I'll make sure there's no trace of us left when we leave."

' _Fine. Be safe.'_

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks daddy. I owe you one."

Steve was supposed to be home in four hours, and I could have the private jet in D.C. in two hours, that leaves me with nothing to do until he comes home. I packed up a bag, getting everything ready to leave. I wanted to get out as soon as he came home. I wanted to make the most of his week off. So I waited rather impatiently for Steve to get home, spending most of the four hours on the couch. I hadn't planned on falling asleep, but I did.

_..._

_Steve and I lay side by side in bed, my head resting on his chest. The sheets were pulled up over us, but I knew we were naked underneath._

' _Are you okay?' Steve asked, lacing his fingers with mine that sat on top of his chest._

' _I should be asking you that.' I murmured, nuzzling my face into the hard muscle of his chest._

' _I'm fine. I've never been better. It's you I'm worried about. I didn't hurt you did I?'_

' _No.' I said, leaning up so I was staring at him. 'No, it was perfect.' I pressed a kiss to his chest. 'Better than I could have ever imagined.'_

' _Thank you, by the way.' He said, tangling his fingers in my hair._

' _For what?'_

' _For doing this. For putting all of this together. It really means a lot.'_

' _Well, you're worth it. I-I love you, Steve, and I wanted this to be special.'_

_He smiled down at me. 'Good, because I love you too.'_

_..._

I jolted awake when the front door opened. My heart was pounding in a good way, my head still reeling from the dream. There was hope for me after all. Though I wasn't how far in the future it was.

"Hey, did I wake you up?" Steve asked, kneeling down in front of the couch.

"No, I didn't even mean to fall asleep." I said, rubbing a hand down my face before blinking my blurry eyes at Steve. "Hey."

"Hey." He said, smiling at me. "Did you have a good couple days of privacy?"

I sat up on the couch, stretching as he stood to his feet. "I did a whole lotta nothing, except make plans, so go pack a bag. Our flight leaves in an hour."

"Where are we going?"

"My dad has a house on Jupiter Island in Florida, so I talked him into letting us borrow it for your birthday."

"Oh yeah?" He asked, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Just the two of us?"

"Just the two of us." I said, wrapping my arms around my shoulders, having to stand on my toes to reach him. "And the beach, and the sun. And a swimming pool, and a bunch of other unnecessary things, but it's my dad's house and his money, so he does what he wants with it." I shrugged.

Steve leaned down, pressing his lips against mine in a sweet kiss. "Are we taking the jet?" He asked against my lips.

"Yeah." He nipped at my bottom lip. "So I guess it really doesn't matter if we're late for it. It's not like it'll leave without us."

"I guess I should go pack a bag, huh?" He asked, pulling away from me.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea." I murmured, still in a daze from his kiss. He had that effect on me.

Steve and I made it to the airport early, even after our debate about his shield.

"You're seriously bringing it?" I asked as he grabbed it before closing and locking the apartment door.

"Yeah. What if I end up needing it?"

"It's like an extra limb, isn't it? Or a security blanket." I mumbled the last part, descending the stairs.

"Hey, it just makes me feel better knowing it's close. What if someone broke in and stole it?"

"If it makes you feel better." I said, opening the trunk to the Audi.

It was a two hour flight to Palm Beach, then another hour drive to Jupiter Island. Steve couldn't keep his jaw off the ground at the sight of the house.

"Your dad keeps this as a vacation home?"

"Yeah. One of many." I bent over to peel back the doormat, picking up the key. "I've only been here once." I said, unlocking the door. "When I was little. Haven't been back since."

Steve could only stare wide eyed at the interior of the modern house. "How many houses does your dad own?" He asked, following me up the stairs.

"Five. Well, four technically now." I said, opening the door to the master bedroom. "There's Stark Tower, then we have a penthouse in Queens. There's the mansion in The Hampton's, this place, and the beach house in Venice Beach. My dad's selling the property in Malibu since it was pretty much demolished." I said, plopping down on the bed. Steve sat down next to me, still in awe. "You do remember my dad's a billionaire, right. I grew up with the extravagant and unneeded."

"It muse have been nice, not ever having to worry. Not having to worry now."

"It certainly has its perks, but it does have its downsides as well." I smiled at him before jumping to my feet. "Come on, let's go to the beach."


	53. Fourth of July

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the next chapter is when stuff gets down and dirty, so that will be optional reading. I'll make sure nothing important happens and it will be referenced in the chapter after it so if you don't want to read it, you don't have to.

I woke up early that morning. I wasn’t quite sure what woke me at first, but a quick turn of my head and I knew. Steve was on his stomach, face turned towards me, eyes closed, such a peaceful look on his face. It made a smile form on mine. He was so sweet, and kind, and good looking, and genuine, and well mannered. He was every girl’s perfect guy, and here I was, laying next to him in bed. It was still dark out, but I knew it was getting close to dawn. It was his birthday today, and I had something special planned. 

I slid out from under his arm, tucking the blankets back up around him before kissing his cheek. I slipped out of the bedroom as silently as possible before going to the kitchen to start on breakfast. Steve came down when I was finishing up, the sun just beginning to rise. 

“You’re up early.” He said, kissing the side of my head as he passed. 

“Well, I’m making you a special breakfast.” 

He sat down across from me at the island. “What’s the occasion?”    
“It’s your birthday, silly. You deserve a special breakfast.” I said, pushing his plate of pancakes with blueberries, strawberries, and whipped cream over to him. 

“Red, white and blue pancakes?” He asked.

“You are Captain America.” I said, sitting down next to him with my slightly smaller plate. 

He hummed, taking a bite of pancakes. “Mmm.”

I giggled a little, looking at him. 

“What?” He asked after swallowing. 

“You have a little...” I motioned to where he had a little whipped cream on his upper lip. “Here. Let me.” I leaned forward, taking his upper lip between mine, licking the whipped cream from his skin. 

His eyes were hooded as I pulled away, the tension in the room thick. We just kind of stared at each other for a couple minutes, but I broke it, turning back to my pancakes. What I’d felt in those few moments between us scared me a little. 

“So, what does the birthday boy want to do today?” I asked before shoveling more pancake in my mouth. “Hit the beach, head into town, relax and do nothing?” 

“Just spending time with you is enough for me.” He said, tucking my hair back behind my ear. 

I smiled a little, a blush rising to my cheeks. “Aww, you’re so sweet. But seriously. What we do today is all up to you.” 

We ended up on the beach, relaxing in the sun. Steve was ever the gentleman in his t-shirt and shorts. I had kept my tank top and shorts on, nervous about the surprise I had underneath. I hadn’t brought it out yet, wanting to save it for today, but now I was scared I couldn’t do it. I just had to channel my inner Stark and do it. 

I stood up, Steve’s eyes following me as I went. I unbuttoned my shorts, letting them drop down my legs before I stepped out of them. I stood so my back was facing Steve as I stripped my tank top off, leaving me in my red, white and blue bikini. 

“I’m gonna hit the water for a little bit.” I said, taking my hair out of it’s braid, letting it fall down my back. I turned my head so I was looking at him. “Care to join me?” 

I left him sitting there, mouth agape as I made my way to the water, the sand hot under my feet. I let my hips sway a little bit more than usual as I neared the water, not bothering to look behind me. I went out to where the waves were hitting my knees before I felt him behind me. He had taken his shirt off, the warm, smooth skin pressing against my back as he wrapped his arms around me. I leaned back into his warmth, lacing our fingers together. He leaned down, pressing a kiss against my bare shoulder before nuzzling my neck. 

“I could stay here all day.” He murmured, pressing a kiss against the side of my neck. 

I leaned my head back giving him better access. “Me too. But we might get a little sunburned. Well, I would. Can you get a sunburn?” 

“Probably. But it would heal faster.” 

“Lucky.” I murmured, laughing as he picked me up, spinning us around in the water. 

We stayed at the beach until dinner time before we headed back to the mansion to change before dinner. I drove us into town, Steve picking his new favorite restaurant to celebrate his birthday at. We went back to the mansion to watch the fireworks from the backyard, Steve and I cuddling under a blanket as we watched the colors light up the sky. 

“Today was the best.” He said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, smiling down at me. “Thank you.” 

I leaned up, pressing my lips against his as the fireworks grand finale filled the sky. “But I’m not done yet.” I murmured against his lips. “I still have one last gift for you.”  


	54. Special Birthday Gift

I led Steve up the stairs to the master bedroom, Steve still a little confused, while my heart was pounding. Was I really ready for this? What if I panicked and ruined everything? What if I had an anxiety attack like usual and nothing ended up happening? No. I was determined. I was going to do this. I was ready. The question I should have been asking was: was he ready? 

I led him into the room, closing the door behind us. I pushed him back until he was sitting on the edge of the bed. I stood in between his knees, still barely a head taller than him, the top of his head level with my chin. He looked up at me, bright blue eyes watching my every move as I ran my fingers over his broad shoulders, fingering the neckline of his blue t-shirt. 

His hands moved up so they were resting on my hips, this thumbs gently rubbing my stomach. “Are you sure?” He asked, the question showing in his eyes. 

I took a deep breath, not meaning for it to shake as I took it. “Yes.” I said, staring down at him, my hands coming to rest against his chiseled jaw, the skin soft under my touch. 

“We don’t have to go further than you feel comfortable with. Just tell me, and we can stop. I don’t want to pressure you into anything. 

“I want to do this.” I said, running my hands down his chest. “I need to do this. I need you.” 

His pupils dilated a little as I said that, grabbing the hem of his shirt to pull it over his head, revealing the hard muscle underneath. Sure I’d seen him shirtless before, but this was under a whole new circumstance. I ran my fingers over the smooth skin, feeling the muscles under it move as I straddled his waist, settling myself on his lap. 

I pressed my lips to his, his arms wrapping around my back as he held me. Our kiss grew passionate quickly, Steve’s tongue darting out to lick along my bottom lip. I opened my mouth, letting him in, our tongues battling before his finally won. He always won. 

His hands trailed down my back before they slid under my shirt, his hands splaying out across my back, the warmth of his skin causing goosebumps to raise on my skin. I pulled away from his mouth for a second to breathe as he continued kissing down my jaw to my neck. I took a few deep breaths as his hands ran higher up my back, taking my shirt with it. 

“You okay?” He breathed, pulling away as he felt me stiffen up a little. 

It wasn't’ any different than when he saw me in a bikini earlier today. Except we were just about to get naked and have sex. I swallowed my nerves, pulling my shirt up over my head. Steve smiled at me before leaning forward, pressing his lips against mine once again. My back arched against him as he ran his fingers up and down my spine, his other hand tangling in my hair. 

“You okay, doll?” He breathed, pulling away from me for a second. 

I blushed more than I was already. “Yeah.” I breathed back, running my fingers over his broad shoulders. 

I smiled at him, looking over his appearance, lips swollen, pupils dilated, hair mussed from my fingers. He looked sexier than he ever had in that moment, the pretence of the All American goody two-shoes Captain America gone. And as much as I liked the gentleman, this was a whole new side of him. 

“Do you need to stop?” He asked me, bringing me back to reality, and I realized I’d been staring. 

“No.” I breathed, reaching behind my to unclasp my bra. “I was just admiring how handsome you are.” 

I slid the straps down my shoulders, taking a moment before tossing my bra behind me. My arms immediately went to cover myself again, but Steve’s hands reached out, grabbing my wrists. He slowly lowered them to my sides, his eyes never leaving my face. 

“Don’t.” He murmured, his hands sliding up my arms to cup my face. “You’re beautiful.” He smiled up at me, making me smile back. 

He leaned up, pressing a kiss to my lips before his arms wrapped around me, flipping us over so he was laying over me. His lips trailed down my neck to my collarbone before he went lower, trailing kisses down my chest. I tangled my hands in his soft hair, my breathing picking up as he kissed around my chest. He looked up at me for confirmation before he leaned down, taking one of my nipples in his mouth. 

It was unlike anything I’d ever felt. It was like my body didn’t know whether it felt good, or didn’t. The small amount of discomfort mixing in with pleasure was amazing. A small whine left my lips as his mouth left my nipple. He groaned against my skin as he made his way over to my other breast, giving it the same attention as the other. 

My hips lifted, grinding against his as he bit down gently on my nipple. I felt him through his jeans as my hips rocked against his. Steve’s hands trailed down my sides to my shorts. He slowly traced the skin above my shorts, goosebumps rising on my skin. He looked to me, locking our eyes as he asked for permission. I nodded, and in a flash, my shorts were flying somewhere behind him. 

I pushed him back, moving him off the bed so he was standing by the edge. 

“Is everything okay?” He asked, concern in his voice. 

I sat back on my knees, my fingers running down his abs towards his jeans. “You’re wearing too many clothes.” 

I took a deep breath, my hands shaking as I undid his belt, pulling it out of his jeans. I had to close my eyes for a second to try and regulate my breathing. I felt Steve’s hands on mine, firm and reassuring. My eyes fluttered back open, my hands moving from his to the button on his jeans, my shaky hands taking longer than I would have liked. 

But I did it, his jeans hitting the floor with a light thump. I stared at him as he kicked his jeans off, his perfect body sculpted out of marble. My breathing picked up a little as I ran my fingers over his abs again, then slightly lower. My breathing picked up even more, almost coming out in short gasps and I had to close my eyes. 

“Hey.” I felt the bed dip down a little, warm hands cupping my face. “It’s okay, doll. We don’t have to do this.” 

“N-no, I-I just-” 

“Shh.” Steve put a finger to my lips, silencing me. “Come here.” 

His arm wrapped around my waist before he pulled me up the bed, laying down behind me so we were spooning. My head ended up on his bicep as his other arm wrapped around my waist. His warmth was comforting, his chest moving against my back as he breathed, and I tried to follow him, slowing down my breaths. 

“I’m sorry.” I whispered, feeling a little ashamed. 

“No, you don’t have to be. I told you I’d help you through this. We don’t have to go further than you want.” He pressed a soft kiss to my shoulder. 

No, I thought. I want to do this. I’ve been afraid for too long. I knew Steve would be gentle, and he’d take care of me. He’d be patient and let me adjust as I needed. He wouldn’t be overbearing or controlling. He’d be perfect. 

I took his free hand in mine, moving it slowly down my stomach. I rolled over on my back, looking up at him as he leaned over me, his hand resting just above the waistband of my underwear. He looked down at me for reassurance before his hand slid tantalizingly slowly into my underwear. My heart was hammering as he ran his fingers along my most private parts, teasing my slit slowly. Experimentally. 

I moaned lightly as he circled my clit with his finger, my head tilting back at the pleasure coursing through my body. It was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. I didn’t know it could feel like this. Steve shifted, pulling my underwear down my legs, exposing me completely. He moved my right leg so it was draped over his hip, exposing me to the humid Florida air. 

My head fell back as he began rubbing my clit with his finger, his mouth descending on my exposed neck. I moaned, my back arching at the pleasure that ignited every part of my being. The fingers on his free hand laced with mine as his thumb replaced his finger, still rubbing my clit. His fingers slid lower, teasing my entrance. He detached himself from my neck, staring down at me, asking if I was okay. I nodded, breathing heavily as he teased my entrance before slipping one finger in. 

I could feel my body clench at the intrusion, my walls tightening around his finger for a moment. Steve groaned, burying his face in my chest. I could feel him against my hip, the hardness poking my side. I swallowed down my nerves, not entirely sure if he’d fit, as his finger moved. 

“You’re so tight.” He breathed, pressing a kiss to the top of my breast. 

“I’ll take it that’s a good thing.” I breathed out, panting as he moved his finger in and out, reaching new depths with every stroke. 

He only groaned in response, his finger starting to move faster. 

My head fell back against his bicep as he added a second finger, the pain only momentary as he stretched me out. My shoulders arched up off the bed, nearly folding in half as a moan tore from my mouth. My hand shot down, grabbing his wrist for support. He froze, leaning up along side me.

“Do that again.” I whispered, pressing a kiss to his mouth. 

He hit that spot again, my legs shaking at the pleasure that was coursing through me. His mouth swallowed my moans as he aimed his fingers towards that spot. I could feel something building, I was getting close to the edge and I didn’t quite know what was on the other side. I slipped my free hand in between us, slipping it under the band of his briefs, sucking in a deep breath as I felt him. 

He was thick and long and warm. I could barely get my fingers around him, all thanks to the serum. Or at least that’s what I thought. The serum was supposed to enhance everything, and I supposed that meant  _ everything.  _ I gripped him tight as the dam broke, waves of pleasure washing over me, Steve groaning just as much as I was moaning, my back arching against his chest. 

I groaned as he pulled his fingers from my heat, leaving me feeling strangely empty. 

“You okay?” He breathed, his muscles tense as I realized I was still gripping him. 

“Yeah.” I said, slowly dragging my hand up his length, enjoying it as his face contorted in pleasure. “Never been better.”

I let him go, tugging on his briefs, giving him the sign that they needed to come off. I adjusted myself on my back as he got up on his knees to slip his briefs off. This was real. This was going to happen. My heart was pounding as I laid there on my back, memories of what happened flying through my head. I screwed my eyes shut, trying to calm the panic. 

“Hey.” Steve said, his arms coming around me, smooth skin sliding against mine. He lifted me, turning himself so we switched positions, my body hovering over his. “Go at your own pace. Take as much time as you need.” 

If I wasn’t turned on before, despite the fact I was PTSD-ing right before we were about to have sex, I was now. He had willingly put aside all masculine pride to let me take control. I knew it couldn’t have been easy. He was Captain America. He was used to being in control. And here he was, letting himself hand over control so I could be comfortable. I knew now that I could do this. 

I slid down a little, taking his length in my hand, pumping it a few times. I watched as precum came dripping from the tip, sliding down until it hit where my fingers were wrapped around him. His eyes were on me, half-lidded, his lips parted slightly as he breathed. I smiled up at him before sliding up so my hips were lined up over him. I went to move, but he grabbed my hip, stopping me. 

“Wait, I need a rubber.” 

I couldn’t help the smile that formed at the vintage term. “It’s okay.” I said, massaging the back of his hand with my thumb. “I’m on birth control.” 

He looked at me for a second before nodding, his hand moving down my hip to my thigh. I took a deep breath before lining him up, sinking down on him. I winced a little at first, having to stop multiple times as he stretched me before I was fully seated on him. His hands gripped my thighs, fighting for control. It wasn’t anything like before. 

Loki had been sloppy, desperate, just wanting to cause pain. Steve made sure I was okay, offered to stop and even gave over control for me. I wished this was my first time. This was how it was supposed to be. No, this was my first time. What Loki did didn’t count. I was having my first time with Steve Rogers. With Captain America. On the 4th of July. A certain Lana Del Rey song began playing in my head and I smiled, rocking my hips experimentally. 

Both of us groaned at the motion, making me do it again. His hands gripped my thighs as I moved up and down, his length sliding in and out of me. It was unlike anything I’d felt before. We were like two puzzle pieces, fitting perfectly together. 

I began rocking my hips, my hands braced on his abs. Steve’s groans mixed with my moans as I picked up speed, nearing the edge for a second time that night. Steve’s hands slid up to my hips, helping me move. He began thrusting his hips up as I came down, hitting that spot that sent my head falling back, a moan leaving my lips. 

It didn’t take long for either of us to reach the edge, my orgasm bringing Steve over as well. It was almost like fireworks were going off again as we both came, my body falling forward on to Steve’s chest as his arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly. It took us a few moments to come down from our highs, neither of us able to form words as we sat in bliss. Steve’s arms tightened around me before he rolled us over, my back hitting the bed lightly, Steve’s body hovering over mine. 

He smiled down at me, his usually perfect hair mussed, face flushed, sweat sliding across his skin. He was so perfect. He grinned down at me, his length growing hard inside me again. 

“Round two?” 


	55. Spark

It was 20 minutes past two in the morning, July 5th, 2013. Steve and I were in bed, nothing but the thin flat sheet covering our naked bodies. My head was resting on his chest, the steady thump of his heart under my ear. His arm was wrapped around my back, lightly tracing lines down my arm. We were both silent in our post-coital bliss. Neither of us needed to say anything, both of us seeming to be able to read the other. It was like a connection had been established between us, and neither of us wanted to go far. I could have stayed like that forever, wrapped in his arms, his warmth surrounding me.

It was Steve who broke the silence first. "Are you okay?" He asked, lacing his fingers with mine that sat on top of his chest.

"I should be asking you that." I murmured, nuzzling my face into the hard muscle of his chest, pressing a small kiss to the skin. I thought back to the dream I'd had before we'd left D.C.

"I'm fine. I've never been better. It's you I'm worried about. I didn't hurt you did I?" We'd only gone three rounds after the first. The serum gave him stamina for days, but I had tuckered out eventually. Even the half-Asgardian was outmatched by the super-soldier serum.

"No."' I said, leaning up so I was staring at him. "No, it was perfect"' I pressed a kiss to his chest. "Better than I could have ever imagined."

"Thank you, by the way." He said, tangling his fingers in my messy hair.

"For what?"

"For doing this. For putting all of this together. It really means a lot."

"Well," I faltered a little. Did I want to confess it to him now? Did I want to risk that? Even knowing what he'd say I had my doubts. "You're worth it, Steve, and I wanted this to be special."

He smiled down at me, but I could see disappointment in his eyes. "Well, you certainly made it that." He leaned up a little, pressing a kiss to my forehead before settling back down.

We eventually drifted off, neither of us rising until late morning. I groaned as I rolled over, a steady ache between my thighs. Steve's hand rubbed my back as I laid half on the bed, half off.

"Are you okay, doll?" He asked, trailing his fingers down my spine.

"Yeah. Just a little sore." I sat up, stretching my muscles. "I'm gonna shower."

I felt his fingers run down my arm before they entwined with my own. "Stay." He murmured, tugging me back lightly.

I leaned back, pressing a kiss against his lips. "Come shower with me." I murmured, his eyes fluttering a little, and his cheeks turning pink.

I got up off the bed, stumbling a little, not expecting to be that sore. I limped off towards the bathroom, and only made it a couple steps before I was scooped up, warm skin pressing against mine.

"Sure know how to sweep a girl off her feet." I said, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Well that's surprising considering you're the first."

"What? That can't be true!" I said as he sat me down on the counter, turning on the water in the shower.

"Well, back then it wasn't exactly physically possible, when a lot of girls were taller than I was."

"Even after the serum?"

"I had other concerns. Touring the country with my new found fame that I never wanted, then with the Commandos we were travelling so much there wasn't any time to do anything else." He moved to stand in between my knees, hands resting on the counter by my sides.

"Well, I am honored to be your first, Captain Rogers." I said jokingly, wrapping my arms around his neck and giving him a cheeky smile.

"And I am honored to be your first, Miss Stark." He smiled for a moment before giving me a serious look. "But you're sure you're okay? I didn't hurt you, or it wasn't too much?"

"Steve," You cupped his cheek. "It was amazing. I really needed to do it, and you were beyond perfect. I'm so glad it happened."

He leaned down, pressing a kiss to my lips. I tugged him closer, the kiss getting more heated as steam filled the bathroom from the shower.

"Keep kissing me like that and we won't make it to the shower." Steve said, giving me a small smile.

I wrapped my legs around his waist, scooting myself off the counter so I was hanging off him. "Or you can carry me to the shower and we do it there. I'd hate to waste water."

His arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly as he walked to the shower, closing the glass door behind him.

Steve and I spent the rest of the week in Florida before we had to fly back Sunday. I would miss the quiet peacefulness of Jupiter Island, but Steve had a life to get back to, as hectic as it was.

We settled back into our routine, but with some added features this time. I moved into Steve's bedroom, my old bedroom becoming a guest room in case anyone needed to crash at the apartment. Steve would go out on his missions, and I'd stay behind, keep myself busy. When Steve came home we'd usually end up between the sheets, almost becoming like rabbits. I still hadn't told him, even after the many times we'd laid in bed, spent and blissful. Even though I hadn't told him, we were still inseparable. I could feel the love coming from him, but I was scared. He was still Captain America, and working for SHIELD, and gone a lot on dangerous missions, and would sometimes come back battered and bruised, occasionally bleeding. There was still a chance he wouldn't come back. And I was scared to tell him, the thought that every time I send him off, it might be the last time.

But there was no denying the chemistry. I hadn't just noticed it because of the sex. Way back when we'd first met, I knew there was a connection, even though we barely knew each other. And I'd had a crush on him, enough so that Loki had ordered me to kill him. And then he'd kissed me the first time. I felt fireworks then, even as we were getting shot at by aliens. And when he'd been hit, it was almost like I could feel it. And when he came back looking like he'd been through hell, I couldn't help but ache for him. He had to live this life, constantly putting his life on the line, doing things he couldn't even talk about. I felt bad. He reassured me it was what he was supposed to do, and I helped keep him sane. He didn't know what his life would be like if he didn't have me. It wasn't quite love, but it was the closest we'd come to it.

There was a burning passion between us, spurred on by forces neither of us understood. A spark had been lit between us, and I was more than content to let it burn.


	56. The Future is a Dark Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the first part of this chapter had explicit material in it, so I put in a page break in case you have innocent eyes, or you don't want to read explicit material. And originally this was a kind of interlude between the first and second half of the story, but I got carried away.

Time moved on as Steve and I went through our daily routines. It was nearing the end of October, and my dad had invited Steve and I to New York to celebrate my 21st birthday in a couple weeks. Steve had promised he’d get that time off, to make sure he could be there for the exciting time. I was just excited I was going to see my dad and Pepper. I hadn’t seen them in almost a year.

Steve was coming back from a mission today, and was already an hour late. It happened occasionally, when they’d get delayed or behind, or Steve would get held up at SHIELD's HQ. But it didn’t make me any less nervous. It was times like these I’d think he was dead, or being held hostage, and I’d regret not telling him, but then he’d waltz right in the door, his shield clanking as it hit the ground by the door, and then he’d pull me into a hug, kiss me passionately and we’d end up in between the sheets, his strong body moving against mine, his hot grunts in my ear...

“Hey, doll.”

I squeaked, falling off the couch, ready to defend myself, my heart pounding in my ears. “Jesus, Steve.” I breathed, looking up at my super-soldier. “You scared the hell out of me.”

“Sorry. I thought you’d heard the door open.” He offered his hand, tugging me up with little effort.

“No, I was off in my own world.”

He wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me to his uniform covered body. “And what were you thinking about?”

I wrapped my arms around my neck, standing on my toes so I could reach him better. “A certain tall, blonde, handsome, blue eyed Captain.”

“And what, exactly, about this Captain were you thinking of?”

I ran my hand down his bicep, feeling the muscle flex under my hand. “Oh, just his strong muscles, how amazing he looks under his uniform.” I ran my hands down his abs. “How good he is in bed.” My hands grabbed his utility belt, tugging his hips against mine. “How he does that one thing with his-”

I was cut off by his lips. “Enough talking.”

I moaned my response against his lips as his tongue invaded my mouth. He was all business tonight. I undid his utility belt, letting it drop to the floor. I jumped up, wrapping my legs around where the utility belt had just been. He held me up with one arm, the other tangling in my hair.

He moved blindly to the bedroom, kicking the door open. I could feel him through the suit, growing harder every time I brushed against him. He dropped me down on the bed, my body bouncing a couple times before it stilled. He knelt down on the edge of the bed in between my legs, his lips meeting mine again. His hands slid up my thighs to the edge of my shirt, well, technically his shirt. He broke the kiss to pull it over my head, tossing it on the floor behind him. I was left in nothing but my cotton shorts and underwear. I had chosen to go braless today and I was glad I did.

Steve’s lips found my neck, sucking and biting their way across my skin. “I love it when you wear my clothes.” He murmured, before nipping at my pulse point.

I was going to say something back, but he pushed me back on the bed, one hand closing around my breast, the other going to start taking off the uniform.

“Wait.” I stopped him, all of his motions stopping. “Leave it on.”

He swallowed thickly, staring down at me and I watched as his eyes darkened, the bulge showing through the uniform growing at my words. I bit my lip, tilting my head a little feeling the heat beginning to pool in between my legs just from his look.

He didn’t say anything as the hand that was on my breast moved down my stomach to my hip, the other moving up my thigh to the same position. He tugged my shorts and underwear down forcefully before tugging me to the edge of the bed. He knelt down, throwing my legs over my shoulders before he pounced, his mouth finding my clit instantly.

I arched up, a moan leaving my mouth as he worked ruthlessly. He still had his gloves on, the leather sliding against my skin as he held my hips still, his tongue moving down my slit to my entrance. My head fell back as he teased me, my toes curling, legs shaking as he brought me closer and closer to the edge.

“Fuck.” I breathed. “I’m so close.” I tangled my hand in his hair, desperately trying to push my hips closer to his face.

He pulled away before I came, a smirk on his face at the whine that left my lips. He kissed his way up my body before finding my lips, letting me taste myself on his tongue. He pushed me up further on the bed before I heard the zipper on his suit before his warmth was pressing against me.

I gripped his shoulders, kissing him fiercely as he pushed into me, feeling him struggle to keep from moving.

“Go.” I breathed against his lips, wrapping my arms around him. “Fuck me, Captain.”

He groaned a little and began moving, thrusting his hips slowly. “A dame such as yourself shouldn’t be using such language.” He said, his voice strained from holding back.

“Then maybe you should punish me.”

I cried out as he gave a sharp thrust of his hips, hitting that spot deep inside me. He began thrusting at a brutal pace, the past few days apart bringing out the desperate side of our relationship. The worry and anxiety being worked out, reassuring ourselves that we were fine and still in one piece.

Neither of us lasted long, my orgasm bringing his on as we layed there, our foreheads resting together, my body wrapped around his, still clothed in his uniform.

“I missed you.” He breathed, bumping my nose with his lightly.

“I know. I missed you too.” I began undoing his uniform, groaning as he pulled out of me so he could strip out of it, and the Under Armour underneath it.

He climbed back on the bed, pulling the sheets over us before he spooned behind me, wrapping his arms around me. I snuggled back into his chest, his warmth comforting me. Both of us drifted off to sleep in post coital bliss, happy to be back together again.

 

* * *

 

_I was in space again. It was quiet as I floated through the stars, not seeming to be heading in any set direction. It would have been peaceful, had what happened next not happened at all._

_Suddenly I was surrounded by a dark red substance, almost like a liquid. It encased itself around me, trapping me, blocking out all light. I was trapped in the darkness, unable to move, and unable to see anything._

_Then, images began flashing through my mind. I saw Asgard like it was when I visited, calm and quiet. Then it changed, and Asgard was surrounded by black ships, unlike any I’d seen before. The image changed again and I was standing on a barren planet, the sky cloudy and grey above me, and across from me was what I had to assume was an alien. He was tall, his skin white, like his hair and he had pointy ears, almost like an elf and his eyes were glowing red. The image changed before I could get a better look at him, and now I was staring at what looked like a city on Earth, but it was nearly reduced to rubble. There was a large ship, like the one I’d seen before, that had run aground and for a moment I saw a flash of red and a hammer flying through the air-_

I shot up in bed, breathing hard, my body shaking. My movements woke Steve, who was on alert immediately.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” He wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulder as I tried to process everything I’d seen.

I finally turned my head, looking up into his blue eyes. “Something’s going to happen. Something very bad.”


	57. The Dark World: Home

“I need to do this, Steve.” I said, pacing around the apartment. “Someone needs to warn them.” 

Steve was sitting at the dining table, staring down at the wood, his brow furrowed. “So you’re having visions now?” 

I bit my lip. Yeah, I’d kind of kept that from him. I sank down in the chair next to him. “Yeah. Since New York.” 

“And you just kept that from me.” 

“I didn’t think it was important at the time. I had bigger things to worry about.” 

“You didn’t think-” He stopped himself, taking a deep breath. “So your dad was right when he said you thought you were having visions. What all have you seen?” 

I shrunk down, wrapping my arms around myself. “Most of it’s already happened. Except what I saw last night. That could literally happen tomorrow. I’m just trying to warn the other half of my family that they’re in danger. I don’t know what the vision means exactly, but I do know someone who might.” 

Steve shook his head, sighing heavily. “I don’t know how I feel about letting you do this alone.” 

“Steve.” I put my hand on top of his on the table. “I’ve been there before. I know I’ll be safe. Thor wouldn’t let anything happen to me.” 

Steve’s hand moved so our fingers were laced together. “I’m just...concerned. Scared. If what you saw in your vision is true...and you get caught in it...” 

“I know. It’s exactly how I feel every time you go off on a mission.”

“But that’s different. I’m never alone. I always have Natasha and a STRIKE team behind me.” 

“I won’t be alone. I’ll have my family, and an entire army there.”

“But...” He took on his serious Captain America look, his fists clenching. “Loki is there as well.” 

“Locked in the dungeons for the rest of eternity, locked away in a cell. He won’t ever be a problem again.” I squeezed his hand. “Please, Steve. I won’t be gone for longer than a couple days. I’ll be back in time for my birthday, and we can go up to New York to celebrate like we planned.” 

“It’s not going to matter if I say no, is it?” 

“Not really.” I said, giving him a grin. 

“You’re a lot like your dad that way, you know.” Steve said, barely able to hide the smile on his face. 

“Well, like they say, ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’” 

Steve reluctantly agreed to let me go, saying if I wasn’t back in a week, he’d find a way to get to Asgard, and tell my dad. I already decided I wasn’t going to tell my dad I was returning to Asgard to warn them about a possible attack, knowing he’d probably tie me up and refuse to let me go. Or he’d try to get involved in the fight, which was something I was trying to avoid. He’d done enough fighting over the past couple years, and I didn’t want to disturb his peace and quiet. Granted if the fight did come to Earth like it did in my vision, then I knew he’d probably try to get involved. Both him, and Steve.

Steve refused to let me out of his arms for the entire rest of the day. I planned to leave the next morning, just to give Steve time to get his head wrapped around everything. I would have left right away, but I knew I couldn’t do that to him. I couldn’t just leave a note, telling him I’d gone off to Asgard for a few days to warn them about a possible attack on the city by aliens. That wouldn’t have gone to well. So Steve and I stayed in bed, tangled together, exploring each other like it was the first time all over again. 

“I still don’t like this.” He murmured, his face buried in my hair. 

“I know. I don’t really like it either, but I’m just trying to do the right thing.” I said, pressing a kiss against his collarbone. 

“If you need my help, then just call. Or...whatever they do on Asgard.” 

I laughed. “I’ll find a way to contact you. I always will.” 

The next day I drove out of the city, finding an empty field about an hour outside D.C. where I figured there’d be enough space to do this. I was a little nervous about going back, but at the same time I was excited. Asgard was beautiful, and I felt at home there like I did nowhere else. Maybe because it was the last piece of my mother I had. 

I moved to the middle of the field, looking up at the sky. I really didn’t know what to say. Were there magic words? Before Thor had said just to ask, but how did I go about that? 

“Uh, Heimdall...It’s Skye, Thor’s niece.” I felt kind of stupid talking to the sky, but if it worked...”Uh, I need to get to Asgard. It’s kind of important. So if you could beam me up, that would be great.” 

It took a couple seconds before the bright light shot out of the sky and I was flying. 

I felt a little dizzy, and a little sick when I found solid ground again, taking a moment to get my bearings. 

“Thor was right. You are like your father.” I spun around, my eyes landing on a tall man in gold armor. 

I straightened up a little, remembering I wasn’t on Earth anymore. “You must be Heimdall.” I said, taking a couple steps towards him. “Thank you, for uh...bringing me here.” 

He smiled a little. “You are welcome here any time you wish. I had a horse brought for you.” He said as he led me out on to the Bifrost Bridge. “It will make your journey easier.” 

“I’ve never been on a horse before.” I said, looking up at the large horse in front of me. 

“It is alright. He will take good care of you.” 

I put my foot in the saddle, hoisting myself up, just barely having time to grab the reins before the horse was galloping off towards the city. It was like he knew exactly what to do. For all I knew he did. 

I held on, steadying myself as we arrived at the palace gates. I just barely had time to take it all in before strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me down off the horse. I was squished against a strong, broad chest. 

“Hello, Thor.” I said, the air being squished from my lungs. 

“It has been a long time.” He said, setting me back down on my feet. 

“Indeed it has.” I said. 

“I trust you are well.” 

“As well as I can be.” 

“Your visit is surprising. What brought you here?” 

“I need to speak with Odin immediately. I think something bad is going to happen.” 


	58. Celebration

“A black liquid, you say.” 

“Yes. It closed around me, trapping me in. And then I saw things.” 

“What did you see?” 

“Asgard was surrounded by ships. I’ve never seen anything like them. Then I was standing on a barren planet, and there was this...man across from me. He was tall, pale...he looked like an elf. And his eyes were red.” 

“You don’t think-”

“Malekith escaped the battle. But it does not mean it is him. What else did you see?” 

“There was a battle going on, on what looked like Earth, but I wasn’t sure. One of the ships that was attacking here, was on Earth, and Thor was there.” 

It was silent for a moment. “And these visions of yours, have they come true?” 

“So far, yes.” 

“We will alert Heimdall of this news. We will be ready for whatever comes our way.” Odin placed a hand on my shoulder. “Do not fret, child. We are well protected.” 

Thor escorted me to the room I’d stayed in the first time I was in Asgard. 

“So how is the Captain?” Thor asked me as we walked through the halls. 

I stuttered a little bit, a little taken aback by his question. “H-How do you-What do you mean?” 

He smirked down at me for a moment before looking back up. “You have a certain look now that you did not have before.” 

I looked at him skeptically for a moment. “He’s good. SHIELD keeps him busy.” 

“And the Man of Iron?” 

“He’s getting a much needed break. He went on vacation with Pepper not too long ago. He’s in New York now, working on Stark Tower, keeping himself busy with whatever else he does.” 

“That’s good.” 

We passed by where what I assumed were soldiers were sparring, three familiar faces approaching us. I was immediately pulled into a hug, my feet lifting a solid foot off the ground. 

“Lady Skye! It is so wonderful to see you.” 

“Good to see you too, Volstagg.” I gasped out, being squeezed to death by the large man. 

“Lady Skye, it has been far too long.” Fandral said, taking my hand and placing a kiss on my knuckles. 

“Indeed it has.” I said, blushing a little bit at his action. 

“We are going to celebrate our victory in Vanaheim tonight. You should join us.” Lady Sif said. 

“Oh, I don’t know. I really don’t want to impose.” 

“Nonsense. You are more than welcome to join us.” 

“Oh, all right. I’ll join you.” 

“Yes!” The three of them smiled at me. 

“Then we will see you tonight, my lady.” Fandral said, bowing a little to me. 

I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as we passed them, keeping on our journey. 

The room was the same as i remembered it, the light coming in the window giving everything  golden glow. It was far more than even what I was used to on Earth. 

“You are more than welcome to explore as you wish. Our celebration is not until nightfall. I trust you can find your way around.” 

“I’ll figure it out if I can’t.” 

I spent most of the day in the library, going through the extensive collection of books. Of course, I couldn’t read most of them, but there were a few that I could, and that’s where Thor found me when it was time to go celebrate. 

He seemed distracted, but I didn’t want to pry too much. He looked like he needed a break, and I didn’t want to bring up any sour feelings. So I pretended like I didn’t notice anything as I was swept away by Fandral and Volstagg, a drink pushed into my hands. 

I quickly got caught up in a story Fandral was telling, so much so that I hadn’t even noticed Thor had disappeared. But that was alright. I was having fun. Or at least part of me was. The other part of me couldn’t stop thinking of Steve. Was he okay? Was he worried? Well, of course he was worried. His girlfriend was off in another realm and he was stuck on Earth with no way of contacting her. I’d be worried too. I was worried. Had he been called off on another mission? What if this time he got caught or died and I wasn’t even there to take the call? Would he be there when I got back? Or maybe that was just the drink talking. 

I excused myself from the celebration, heading back towards the palace. I had memorized the way in case I decided to head back early, like now. Thor was still nowhere to be seen, but I wasn’t about to go chasing after him. 

The palace was quiet when I returned, the halls seemingly empty. I found myself wandering a little, the drinks I’d had still buzzing in my system. Asgardian alcohol was much stronger than the stuff on Earth, granted I hadn’t had much to drink on Earth, aside from the occasional Scotch. So you could say I was still a little tipsy. 

I found myself wandering down into a part of the palace I’d never been in before. It was darker down here, as there were no windows, the only light coming from the torches on the walls. There were no guards down here, which I thought was strange. There were guards all over the palace, but yet, it was eerily empty down here.

_ Skye _ . I whipped around as I heard a voice whisper over the air. My heart was pounding as I looked around me, every shadow seeming to move.  _ Skye.  _ I heard it again, this time to my left. I followed the voice, which was probably a stupid thing to do, but curiosity got the best of me. 

I found myself in what looked to be the dungeon. There were several cells with various creatures inside, but I found myself stopping dead in my tracks at one. My heart was pounding in my ears and there was a lump constricting my airway. He had his back to me, but I didn’t need to see his face to know who it was. He turned around slowly, the smug look on his face unnerving me. 

“Well. There’s a face I never thought I’d see again.” 

  
  



	59. She's Stronger Than We Thought

I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t even move. I was terrified, every memory I had suppressed was being brought back as I stared at the figure in front of me. 

“Cat got your tongue?” He asked, his smirk growing as he stepped closer to the screen between us. 

Yeah, there was a screen between us. He can’t touch me. He’s locked in there and he won’t ever get out. Though, in my opinion, he was being let off easy. Being locked in a cell is not near punishment enough in my book. 

“Why are you here?”

That was a good question. Why was I here? I could have left, I could have avoided this. But instead I had been stupid and followed the imaginary voice. 

“I...” I didn’t know what to say. “Curiosity, I guess.” I hated how my voice shook. How it gave away how scared I really was. And he knew very well how I felt. 

“You are aware of the Midgardian phrase ‘Curiosity killed the cat’, I assume.” 

“Yeah, well satisfaction brought it back. And seeing you locked up is pretty satisfying. But not nearly satisfying enough.”

He chuckled, smiling smugly at me. “There’s the girl I know. Tell me, how is Earth? And your precious Captain?” 

“How do you-” 

“I may be locked in a cage, but I still have my ways. You should not leave your mind so open. Anyone can slip into it. See what you see. Feel what you feel.” 

I took a step back away from the cage. “That’s disgusting. You mean you actually...” I shuddered a little. 

“You see me as more perverse than I thought.” 

“You raped me. I don’t know how much more perverse one can-”I suddenly became dizzy, my world spinning around me, colors starting to fade together. I stumbled back before my legs gave out from under me and I hit the cold stone floor. 

()()()()0()()()()

_ There was no ground underneath me here. I was floating again, but this time the world around me was red. There were no stars here, just red, floating everywhere around me. I couldn’t move, couldn’t feel anything, just float there helplessly, listening to the screeching around me. It was unearthly, and unlike anything I had ever heard. There was something moving around me, something touching my skin, almost like it was looking for a way in.  _

_ It moved up my arms to my face, where it started choking me, forcing my mouth open. It forced its way inside, filling up my entire being. I felt stronger, powerful as it filled me, taking over every part of my being. My body was buzzing with the energy flowing in and out of it, and for a second I could see myself, floating there, my eyes burning red.  _

()()()()0()()()()

My body jolted like an electric shock had gone through it, a gasp tearing from my lips as I came back to my body. I tried to breathe, but it felt like my airway was being constricted. I rolled on my side, violent coughs tearing from my chest. There was a metallic taste on my tongue and I could feel the blood dripping down my face. 

There were footsteps rushing along the ground, a body falling to its knees behind me, a large, warm hand coming to rest on my arm. 

“What have you done to her.” Thor’s booming voice echoed around the dungeon. 

“I believe you already know the answer to that.” Loki said. “How could I possibly do anything locked in this cell?” 

“Thor.” I choked out, the blood pooling in my mouth. 

“Skye?” His hand cupped the side of my face, supporting my head. “Skye, you’re going to be okay.” Thor scooped me up in his arms, hastily leaving the dungeons. 

**3RD POV**

Thor knew bringing Jane to Asgard was dangerous. But he didn’t realize how dangerous it would be for everyone else. He knew Odin would not be happy, but he didn’t see any other option. But what he did not count on, was for Jane to be host to the Aether. Nor did he realize how dangerous bringing it to Asgard was. 

Inside the vault, Thor was the first to sense something was off, but Odin was quick to realize it as well. Both pairs of eyes landed on Jane, but it was not coming from her. 

“Is that...thunder?” Jane asked, finally hearing the disturbance outside. 

“It is not of my making.” Thor said, looking worriedly at his father. 

“It’s origin is coming from the dungeon.” Odin said. “From Skye.” 

Thor didn’t even process what Odin had said, instead taking off in a run towards the dungeons. Odin held Jane back, not wanting the Aether to get too close to Skye. Even he did not know what would happen then. 

Thor found Skye on the floor in the dungeons, in front of Loki’s cell. He could smell the blood before he saw it, the red liquid dripping from her nose, tainting her lips red. He was hesitant to touch her, not knowing what would happen. She did not shy away from his touch as he laid his hand on her arm, coming to rest behind her body. 

He turned to Loki, immediately placing the blame on him. “What have you done to her?” His voice echoed around the dungeons, but it did not phase Loki. 

“I believe you already know the answer to that. How could I possibly do anything locked in this cell?” He was ready to break the barrier and demand to know what happened, but a voice stopped him. 

“Thor.” Her voice was weak, blood pooling in her mouth. 

“Skye?” He cupped the side of her face, keeping her head up so she wouldn’t choke on the blood. He knew he needed to get her to the healers. “Skye, you’re going to be okay.” He scooped her up into his arms, having to refrain from running as he left the dungeons, hastily heading to the healers. 

Skye became unconscious during the trip there, her body limp in his arms. If the situation had been different, he would have laughed at how easily she ended up in trouble. It was true, he had asked Heimdall to watch her as well as Jane, knowing how easy it was for her to get into situations like these. She had been wise, avoiding the situation her father ended up in, though he wasn’t sure how he felt about her going to the Captain. Sure, he offered her protection and cared for her deeply, but he didn’t want to end up seeing her hurt because of him. Or worse, by him. But he was not in control of her life, so he would let her do as she pleased. 

“She is stronger than we thought.” Odin said, moving to stand beside Thor at Skye’s side, while the healers checked her over. 

“And she’s getting stronger. What was she doing in the dungeons anyways?” 

“Curiosity.” Odin said simply, staring down at his granddaughter. “Much like her mother.” 

A small smile formed on Thor’s face. “If anyone knew how to find trouble, it was Freya.” 

“Far too curious for her own good. It’s what got her in trouble in the first place.” 

“What could cause something like this.” 

“It could be a number of things. Seeing Loki again, the Aether.” 

“Then send her back to Midgard, where it is safe.” 

“Midgard is not safe for her. Not at this moment. If we send her there, the Aether could follow. It puts Midgard in danger, if her visions are indeed true.” 

“She saw the Aether, and yet here it is. I do not doubt she is seeing the future.” 

“Foresight is a rare gift. Even rarer for a half-Midgardian.” 

“Freya had the gift of foresight.” 

“Freya did not know what she was seeing. Her mind was becoming tainted by lies, woven by Loki. There was no hope for Freya. It was only a matter of time. And there is no forgiving what she did.” 

“It wasn’t even her fault. She was tricked. Deceived.” 

“Yet she let herself fall into his trap. She was too blinded by her love of magic to be able to see it was tearing her apart on the inside. It was eating her alive, and it cost her, her sanity, and nearly her child.” Odin pressed his fingertips against Skye’s temples. “And it still could. Skye’s powers are growing, but she does not have the strength to contain them. They will destroy her, as they have already started to do, and they will destroy everyone around her as well. Including you.” 


	60. Attack on Asgard

I woke up in bed, in my room in Asgard. For a second I thought it had all been a bad dream, but I knew that was not true. I had gone to the dungeons last night and had seen Loki and had a vision and now I was even more confused than before. 

I slid out of bed, catching myself before my legs gave out under me. Not even a day in Asgard and yet I was already causing trouble. Maybe I shouldn’t have ever came. Maybe I should have stayed, left them to fend for themselves. It seemed like wherever I went, I caused trouble. And I didn’t want to keep being like that. I didn’t want to be a burden anymore. So maybe I should just return to Earth. Asgard seemed fine, and they could defend themselves. 

Maybe if I’d woken up an hour earlier, things would have gone very differently. 

I hadn’t even been awake for an hour when all hell broke loose. There were soldiers running in the direction of the dungeons. I knew better than to follow them, knowing what was being held in those dungeons. Even without his staff Loki was still dangerous. So I decided the safest place for me was probably back in my room. Where I could barricade myself and hope for the best. I knew it was cowardly, but if any of those creatures got out...I could only imagine what they were capable of. 

I ran past a window and found myself skidding to a stop. I backed up, watching as black ships flew through the city, straight towards the palace. I knew I should have ran. I should have moved, done something, but I was mesmerized as several different machine-gun type weapons shot at the ships. But they were doing a good job of evading getting hit. They moved unlike anything I’d ever seen before, the continuously growing list of alien weapons never ceasing to amaze me. 

I watched in awe as a golden shield came up around the palace, encasing it in a bubble. I watched as one of the ships hit it, imploding as it made contact. I went to cheer, but I was silenced as the shield started moving the opposite way, allowing the alien ships to fly directly into the palace. I figured now would be a good time to move. 

I ran back in the direction of my room, but was stopped by a hulking figure. He looked like one of those serious Oakland Raider fans that dressed up. Except larger, and his spikes were real. I knew right away I didn’t want to tussle with him, but he was also standing right in my way. 

“Okay, I don’t want to hurt you, and you don’t want to hurt me.” I said, holding my hand out as I slowly backed away. He took a large step towards me, making me back away faster. “Okay, maybe you do. But I’m warning you. You won’t be the first alien I’ve killed.” 

I pushed him back with a wave of energy, sending him flying back a few feet. He landed on his feet, my courage quickly diminishing. Maybe I had too much faith in myself. He charged at me, and I tried to hold him off, but he slammed into the shield I’d put up around myself, sending us both flying backwards. I hit a pillar, my vision going dark for a second as I hit the ground, my head pounding. I groaned, trying to blink away my blurry vision, but it wasn’t working. My head was pounding too much. The hulking figure got back to its feet, its eyes set on me for a moment, before it turned away, walking away from me. 

I slowly dragged myself to my feet, feeling the blood trickle down the back of my neck. I limped in the direction the creature was heading, not knowing what I was going to find. I knew I wouldn’t be much use when it came to fighting, but I pushed on anyways. 

I arrived at the scene at the same time as Thor. I had to shield my eyes as he shot lightning towards one of the elves, the smell of burning flesh filling the air for a moment. I heard him yell, running after the elf and the creature as they escaped, Thor throwing his hammer, trying to stop them. And that was when I saw it. Frigga’s lifeless body on the ground. I held myself up against a pillar as the tears threatened to fall. I didn’t know if I was dizzy from my probable concussion, or from the grief that washed over me in that moment. 

Odin entered not long after, moving to Frigga’s side. He knelt down, taking her body into his arms. I slid down the pillar, tucking my knees up to my chest. I wrapped my arms around my knees, tucking my head down against them. I could still feel the blood dripping down the back of my neck, staining my dress as it went. Footsteps approached me and I looked up as Thor knelt down in front of me. I blinked, trying to steady my vision as I pulled him down into a hug. He wrapped his arms around me, and I didn’t care that he’d probably feel the blood dripping down my back. He really needed a hug, and I did too. He pulled away, his eyes rimmed red from tears as we stared at each other for a while, not saying anything. He moved his hand from my back, doing a double take as he saw the blood on his hand. 

“You are injured.” 

I waved him off, trying to get up. “I’ll be okay. I’ve had-” I stumbled, falling into his side. “Worse. Just give me a couple hours. I’ll be back to normal.” 

Thor was stubborn, taking me, along with about one hundred others to get fixed up by the healers. Apparently Asgard had an instant fix for concussions. That would be useful on Earth. 

That night all of Asgard gathered to honor the fallen soldiers, as well as their queen. Thor introduced me to Jane, who apparently had been on Asgard for a couple days. Granted I’d been being stupid for those couple days, so I wasn’t actually surprised that I hadn’t noticed her yet. Their funeral traditions were quite beautiful, well, at least for a funeral. I stood by Thor’s side as the boats were sent out, flaming arrows were shot out, not one missing its mark, to catch fire to the boats. We watched as the went out towards the waterfall at the edge of the realm. Odin hit his staff against the ground, the boat carrying Frigga sailing out past the waterfall, only to dissolve into an array of stars before they floated up into the sky above. 

I felt blame start to rise up within me. If I had been with them instead of on my own then I could have helped. Maybe if I hadn’t gotten so distracted, Frigga would still be alive. Those thoughts plagued me as I made my way back to the palace amongst the thralls of mourning Asgardians. I had never felt so out of place before in my life. I wished I at least had Steve with me. He always knew how to comfort me. Cheer me up. I was kind of regretting not telling Steve I loved him now. If I made it back to Earth, I knew I was going to tell him the second I saw him. 


	61. Escape from Asgard

I went out to Heimdall’s Observatory the next morning. I needed to get out of the palace, and I was just a tad curious. I had a lot of questions I wanted answered. 

“Odin has closed the Bifrost, you know.” Heimdall said as I entered the observatory. 

“I know. I just...was curious.” 

I saw Heimdall’s shoulders shake with laughter as I approached him. “So much like your mother that way.” 

“So, can you actually see...everything?” 

“All nine realms and their inhabitants.” I nodded as I moved to stand beside him, looking out at the stars. “Your lover is fine.” I blushed at the terminology, but I guess that was technically true. “He’s worried, but fine. He was sent out on a mission this morning. Nothing too important. Hopefully you will be able to get back to him before too long.” 

“I do hope so. He didn’t even want to me come. Sometimes I think it was a bad idea coming.” 

“You did what you thought was right. You were brought here for a reason not even I understand completely. But nothing happens without reason.” 

I nodded. “Thank you, Heimdall.” 

“You are most welcome.” 

I spent the rest of my day in my room in the palace, reading over a few books I’d taken from the library. It was the only thing I could do. Until the Dark Elves attacked again, there was no way out of Asgard. I knew Heimdall wasn’t ever wrong, but was I really brought here for a reason? If so, what was that reason? I could hardly focus on my books as those thoughts ran through my mind. 

I was relieved when there was a knock at my door, offering me a distraction for a moment. I was surprised to see Thor on the other side. I hadn’t seen him since the funeral, deciding to leave him alone to grieve. 

“Thor? Is everything okay?” 

“Can I come in?” 

“Oh, yeah, sure.” I moved out of the doorway and he came into the room, turning to face me as I leaned against the door. “What can I do for you?” 

“I’m working on a plan. If I take Jane to the Dark World and free the Aether, then it will be exposed and weak and thus can be destroyed, as well as Malekith and the rest of the Dark Elves.” 

“But there’s no way to get out of Asgard.” I said.

“Not through the Bifrost.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“There are other portals in Asgard. Portals that can take us to other realms. But there is only one person who has knowledge of their locations.” 

“Loki.” 

“Yes. If we get Loki to help us, we can end this threat and you can return to Earth.” 

“Do you really think Loki will help us?” 

“He won’t have any other choice. My father thinks he’s doing the right thing, but it will cost several lives in the process. This can end this war before it begins.” I chewed on my lip, thinking about the visions I’d had that brought me to Asgard in the first place. Thor stepped closer to me, placing his hands on my shoulders. “I promise he will not touch you. Nor get close to you. You have my word.”

I sighed. “Fine. I’ll help you. What’s the plan?” 

“Sif, Volstagg and Fandral will help me, you, Loki and Jane escape in the ship left behind by the Dark Elves. Loki will get us to Svartalfheim where we will trick the Elves into thinking Loki betrayed us. Malekith will extract the Aether from Jane and then I’ll destroy it and Malekith for good.” 

“And you’re sure this will work?” 

“It’s the best opportunity we have. If we wait, we will only bring war to Asgard, and we will be destroyed.” 

I nodded, looking down at my feet. 

“You do not have to come if you do not wish.” 

“No, I want to help.” I thought back to Heimdall’s words. “I need to help.” 

Sif and I broke Jane out of where she was being kept, taking out the guards in front of the door while Thor went to get Loki. I made sure to keep myself as far from him as possible, keeping both Sif and Thor between us. 

“You’re...” Jane started, walking up to Loki. 

“I’m Loki, you may have heard of me.” 

Jane reached up and smacked him across the face. I bit back my laugh. “That was for New York.” 

Loki smiled, looking from Jane to Thor. “I like her.” 

Several guards came up the stairs towards where we were standing. Thor moved over to Sif, making me take a step back away from Loki. I wasn’t going to be held responsible for what happened if he came close to me. Considering what happened last time...

“I’ll hold them off. Take her.” Sif said. 

“Thank you.” Thor nodded before ushering Jane and I off towards the throne room. 

Loki followed, Thor keeping him in his sight at all time. I made sure of that as well. We approached the ship that had been left behind, Volstagg standing in front of it. 

“I’ll give you as much time as I can.” He said as we got closer. 

“Thank you, my friend.” Thor said, shaking his hand. 

We boarded the ship, the inside of it looking more complicated than I’d imagined. Thor began pushing buttons randomly, hoping something worked. 

“I thought you said you knew how to fly this thing.” Loki said. 

“I said, ‘How hard could it be?’” 

“Well, whatever you’re doing, brother, I suggest you do it faster.” Loki said. 

“Shut up, Loki.” If it had been under different circumstances, then it would have been hilarious. 

“You must have missed something.” Loki said. 

“No, I didn’t. I’m pressing every button on this thing.” 

“No, don’t hit it. Just press it gently.” 

“I am pressing it gently, it’s not working!” Thor finally hit something right, and the ship started powering up. 

The ship lifted off the ground and I held on as it rocked, Thor taking out every column in sight. 

“I think you missed a column.” Loki said. 

“Shut up!” 

Thor flew us right out of the palace, taking down a wall in his path. It was amazing how the cockpit didn’t seem to move while the rest of the ship did. If only we could master than on Earth.

“Look, why don’t you let me take over.” Loki said as Thor flew through the city. “I’m clearly the better pilot.” 

“Is that right? Well, out of the two of us, which one can actually fly?” 

The guards started shooting at us and Thor flew us down away from the blasts. Jane, who had been standing near Thor and Loki collapsed to the floor. 

“Oh, dear. Is she dead?” Loki asked and I rolled my eyes. 

“Jane.” Thor said, looking away for a moment. 

I slid down so I was kneeling next to her, checking her over to see what was wrong. But as soon as I touched her hand, a shock went through me. It burned, and sent me falling back away from her. My vision went red for a moment, but it quickly faded, leaving me wondering what just happened. But I knew whatever it was, it wasn’t good. 

We continued to be shot at and Thor flew, trying to keep us from being shot out of the sky. He hit the side of a building sending it crumbling down. 

“Not a word.” 

“Now they’re following us.” Loki said, as Asgardian ships flew behind us. 

They began shooting at us, making the ship rock as one hit. 

“Now they’re firing at us.” 

“Yeah, thank you for the commentary, Loki, it’s not at all distracting.” 

Thor flew away from the city towards a tunnel, hitting a statue as he went. 

“Well done. You just decapitated your grandfather.” 

Thor flew through the tunnel, dodging getting fired at as he flew away from the city.    
“You know, this is wonderful. This is a tremendous idea. Let’s steal the biggest, most obvious ship in the universe and escape in that.” He did have a point. “Flying around the city, smashing into everything in sight so everyone can see us It’s brilliant, Thor! It’s truly brilliant.” 

Thor pushed Loki through the hatch that opened in the ship. “Skye, go!” 

“Are you serious?” I yelled over the wind. 

“Yes. Don’t worry. I’ll be right behind you.” 

Oh god. Here we go. I stepped up to the hatch, taking a breath before jumping out. I flew through the air for a second before I landed on one of the Asgardian ships with Fandral and Loki. I had to breath a sigh of relief for a moment as I clutched on to the side of it. Fandral laughed as Thor landed beside me, Jane in his arms. 

“I see your time in the dungeons has made you no less graceful, Loki.” He said. 

Thor laid Jane down next to me. She looked worse than before. 

“You lied to me.” Loki said. “I’m impressed.” 

“I’m glad you’re pleased.” Thor said. “Now do as you promised, and take us to your secret pathway.” 

Loki took control of the ship, turning us towards the mountains to our right. We started being fired at by another ship, making me duck down a little. Loki swerved the ship to avoid getting hit before lifting it off the water. I felt like I might be a little seasick. 

“Fandral.” Thor said, turning to his friend. 

“Right.” He said, grabbing onto a rope. “For Asgard.” He said before jumping off the side of the boat, swinging down on to the other ship. 

Loki turned us again, heading straight for a cliff side. He wasn’t slowing, so I ducked down, preparing for impact. 

“Loki...” Thor said. 

“If it were easy, everyone would do it.” Loki said. 

“Are you mad?” 

“Possibly.” 

Thor ducked down, covering both Jane and I as Loki flew through a gap in the mountainside, the sides of the boat scraping against the rock. I kept my head ducked down, and suddenly, everything went dark. 


	62. The Dark World

I felt like the air was punched out of my lungs for a moment before we were sliding across the ground on a barren planet. The one I’d seen before in my vision. Loki lifted us up so we were flying again, moving past what looked like a destroyed city. There was no life, nothing moving around. Thor covered Jane with a blanket and Loki sighed. 

“What I could do with the power that flows through those veins.” 

“It would consume you.” Thor said. 

“She’s holding up all right. For now.” 

Thor sat down on the edge of the ship. “She’s strong in ways you’d never even know.” 

“Say goodbye.” 

“Not this day.” 

“This day, the next, one hundred years, it’s nothing. It’s a heartbeat. You’ll never be ready. The only woman whose love you’ve prized will be snatched from you.” Loki said, standing. I slid back further away from him. 

“And will that satisfy you?” 

“Satisfaction is not in my nature.” I felt a shiver run down my spine at those words. 

“Surrender is not in mine.” 

“The son of Odin-” 

“No. Not just of Odin. You think you alone were loved of Mother. You had her tricks, but I had her trust.” 

“Trust? Was that her last expression? Trust? When you let her die?” 

“What help were you in your cell?” 

“Who put me there? Who put me there?” Loki shouted. 

“You know damn well!” Thor said, shoving Loki back. “You know damn well who.” Thor paused for a moment, breathing deeply. “She wouldn’t want us to fight.” 

“Well, she wouldn’t exactly be shocked.” Both Thor and Loki chuckled. 

“I wish I could trust you.” Thor said before backing away, turning back towards Jane. 

“Trust my rage.” 

We continued to travel through the ruined city, the darkness and the emptiness was really weighing me down. I pulled my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them, leaning my head on my arms. I closed my eyes, blocking out the darkness, letting myself drift off. 

_ I was surrounded by red again, the substance sliding against my skin. I couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything. I was totally defenseless, at the mercy of this alien device. I could hear it screeching as it moved, trying to force its way under my skin. I shuddered as it ran over my face, probing at my very pores. I refused to let it in, not wanting to know what it was going to do once it got inside. I had an idea, but I wasn’t about to put a name to it. At least not yet. _

I gasped, straightening up slightly. I had to remember where I was, and what I was doing. I looked to my left, seeing Jane sitting up as well. 

“Jane.” Thor said. 

Jane moved closer to the front of the boat so she could see in front of us. “Malekith.” 

I couldn’t see anything, but I trusted her to know what she was talking about. We left the ship, walking the rest of the way. Loki led our march up the hill, ducking down slightly when we got to the top. We could see the giant spaceship down in the valley below us. Thor had talked us over the plan again on our way uphill. 

“Alright. Are you ready?” He asked, looking from Jane and Loki to me. 

“I am.” Loki said. 

Thor and Loki stood, while Jane and I stayed back behind them. I could see Malekith and his Dark Elf army below us. 

“You know, this plan of yours is going to get us killed.” Loki said. 

“Yes, possibly.” 

Loki held his chained wrists out to Thor, waiting for him to undo them. “You still don’t trust me, brother?” 

“Would you?” Thor asked before taking the chains off. 

“No, I wouldn’t.” 

Loki drew his dagger, stabbing Thor before throwing him down the hill. 

“Thor!” Jane yelled.

Loki followed after Thor as he rolled down the mountainside, Jane following after him, and me after her. I almost slipped down the mountainside, but I caught myself, my heart pounding in my chest. I knew something was going to go wrong. I could feel it. 

“You really think I cared about Frigga?” Loki yelled. “About any of you?” He kicked Thor in the face, sending him flying back. 

The Dark Elves were approaching where Loki and Thor were fighting, Malekith in the lead. 

“All I ever wanted was you and Odin dead at my feet.” 

Thor reached out for his hammer, but Loki cut his hand off instead, Thor just barely having time to move before the hammer shot past him, hitting the ground. Jane ran over to Thor, kneeling at his side before Loki grabbed her, pulling her to her feet. I slid down next to Thor, keeping my distance. 

“Malekith!” Loki said. “I am Loki of Jotunheim and I bring you a gift.” He threw Jane down to the ground at Malekith’s feet. “I ask only one thing in return. A good seat from which to watch Asgard burn.” 

The ugly looking creature next to Malekith said something in their language to him. I backed up slightly as Malekith moved over to where Thor and I were. Thor moved so he was kneeling down in front of Malekith. 

“Look at me.” He said, paying me no mind. Which was something I was grateful for. Malekith kicked Thor back over onto his back. 

Malekith lifted his hand, sending Jane into the air. The wind picked up as red tendrils of smoke left Jane, moving into the air. Malekith shifted his hand and Jane fell back to the ground, Thor getting up slightly. 

“Loki! Now!” Thor shouted. 

Loki removed the magic from Thor, Thor’s hammer flying into his hand. I moved so I was standing in front of Jane and Loki as Thor shot lightning at the Aether. The Aether screeched before it appeared to explode. I held my hands up, creating a force field of sorts around us. I gasped for breath as I let the force field down, feeling a small trickle of blood drip out of my nose. I was left standing while everyone else had been knocked over by the force of the explosion. Thor stood from where he’d fallen, looking at the broken pieces of the Aether around him. The red pieces began to lift off the ground and into the air, reforming the Aether. The wind picked up again as it floated in between us. Malekith held his hand out towards the Aether, but it didn’t move. Instead it stayed where it was. The wind shifted direction and I noticed too late that it was blowing in my direction. I took a step back as the Aether started moving closer to me. 

“Skye...” Thor said, looking from me, the Aether, and Malekith, then back. 

“Oh god.” I breathed. “What’s happening?”    
“Skye, run!” 

But it was too late. I could feel my body lifting off the ground, losing complete control over my limbs. The Aether came closer and my vision went red for a moment, before going completely dark. 


	63. Possessed

I was laying on my back in the dirt when I came back to. The sky was grey, clouds blocking out any sign that there was sky beyond it. There was very little light to see by, but it was just enough. It would be very depressing living here. No wonder they were called Dark Elves. I would go a little mad if I had to live in this forever. 

I suddenly remembered what had happened, but I found I couldn’t move. I was stuck on the ground, and I couldn’t get up. For a moment I thought of A Christmas Story, but, considering what had happened before I’d passed out, and granted I didn’t know how long I was out, it probably wouldn’t be appropriate to be throwing around lines from a movie. Granted if my dad were here, he’d have no problem with that. But I’m not my father. 

I heard footsteps approaching me and I suddenly found I could move again. I rolled on my side and found Malekith was approaching me. Everyone else was on the ground again, and it made me wonder what had happened. I scooted back slightly as Malekith approached me, but I knew I didn’t stand a chance of escaping from him. He stopped a few feet in front of me, holding his hand out. My body lifted into the air again, something I was getting very tired of. I waited for him to smite me or something, but nothing happened. He looked just as confused as I was sure I did at that moment. He tried again, but nothing happened. He snarled in anger before letting me go, angrily stomping the rest of the way to where I had fallen. He grabbed me by the neck, lifting me back up of the ground. I panicked, a wave of energy leaving me, sending him flying back. I dropped to the ground, landing in a crouched position. I stared down at my hands, seeing the red energy moving under it. 

“Oh god.” I said, looking from Malekith to me. “Oh my god.” 

“So the Aether thinks it’s found a better host.” Malekith said, standing back up. “You may hold it, but I still control it.” He held his hand out, and my body stumbled forward, my legs fighting to keep up. He turned his head, nodding to the ugly creature beside him and they turned, my body unwillingly following them as they moved back towards their ship. 

“No!” I heard Thor yell, fighting the few Elves that had stayed behind to keep them at bay. 

The ugly creature turned around, pulling what looked like a grenade from his belt before tossing it behind him. I turned my head just in time to see Loki almost get sucked away into god knows what, but Thor flew through the air, grabbing him before he could. I could hear Thor’s hammer whirring and I heard the bodies fall behind us, but he was knocked back by the ugly creature. Malekith dragged me onto the ship, dragging me along the countless walkways as we lifted off the ground. 

“You’re going to Earth, aren’t you?” I asked, making him stop. 

“How could you know that?” He asked, whirring around. 

I shrugged. “I saw it.” 

“How?” 

“In a vision. I also know you’re going to lose.” 

Malekith smirked, tugging me along behind him. “You may be able to see the future, but it is not something set in stone. The future can change, child. That is something you must learn.” 

“No, I didn’t see that part in the vision. You see, guys like you never win. Sure, you may plunge the nine realms into darkness, but there will always be someone willing to stand up and fight for it. I thought you would have learned by now that Earth, and the other realms won’t give up so easily. Because the people that are willing to defend them, have something to fight for. Unlike guys like you who just want power and control. The road to revenge is an ugly one. And plus, I’ve got your all powerful weapon stuck inside me.” 

He opened a door somewhere deep inside the ship. “For now.” 

He shoved me in, closing the door. I backed up so I was leaning against the wall. It was pitch black inside the room, but the glowing red under my skin gave me a little light. Maybe this was what Heimdall was talking about. Maybe I was supposed to become host to this all powerful alien weapon, which I couldn’t even control. For all I knew, Malekith would succeed, I would die, and everything would turn to chaos. I closed my eyes, curling up against the wall. I wasn’t sure how long it would take us to get to Earth, but I knew I’d need my rest if I was going to get through this. 

_ “Steve, there’s no easy way to say this, but-”  _

_ “Don’t.” His back was stiff, muscles tense as he stood, facing away from me.  _

_ “You have to understand that he’s my dad.”  _

_ “I know. But what he’s doing is wrong.”  _

_ “Is it?” I took a few steps closer to him. “How do we even know which side is right? How do we-”  _

_ “I know what happened.” Steve said, turning his head to the side a little. “I know what you did.”  _

_ “H-How d-”  _

_ He turned to face me, a mixed look of hurt and anger on his face. “He’s my best friend. Of course I know.”  _

_ I shook my head, blinking back tears. “I-I’m so sorry.” I pulled the ring off my finger, holding it out to him, placing it in his upturned palm. “I love you, Steve, but he’s my dad. Maybe this is for the best.” I wiped the stray tear off my face, before turning and walking away from him, not knowing when I’d see him again. If I would see him again.  _


	64. Saving The World...Again

I woke back up when the door to the room opened up, letting just the faintest light in. I assumed we’d arrived on Earth, as there were Elves moving towards the entrance to the ship. Malekith waved his hand and I was on my feet, moving behind him. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. I knew what he was going to try and do. Though, I wasn’t quite sure how it was going to work. I could very well be seeing my last day on Earth, for all I knew. 

He loaded us into what felt like a giant elevator, moving us down the ship to the ground, where we stepped out. I didn’t have any clue where we were exactly, but I knew it was Earth. That much I could tell. Malekith stopped and looked up at what looked like a giant wormhole in the clouds, green light coming from inside it. There was a crash and Thor landed in front of us. 

“You needn’t have come so far, Asgardian. Death would have come to you soon enough.” Malekith said, continuing to walk forward. 

“Not by your hand.” 

“Your universe was never meant to be. Your world and your family will be extinguished.” 

He threw his hand forward and I couldn’t stop myself. The Aether lashed out and attacked Thor, throwing him back. Ripping pain shot through me, it was almost like part of my body was being torn apart every time Malekith made me lash out at Thor. It wasn’t right. It didn’t feel right. The Aether chose me as a host, why could he control it? Why should he control it? It was my power now, and I wasn’t about to be used to destroy the universe. 

“You know, I wouldn’t have expected you to hide behind someone else’s power.” Thor said, wiping blood from his lip. 

“The Aether is mine!” Malekith said. 

“No.” I said, turning around to face him, rage building inside me. “It’s mine.” 

Malekith went flying back, sliding along the ground before taking out a column, then finally coming to rest further than I could see. 

“Think you can hold them?” Thor shouted, running towards me. 

I looked around at the Dark Elves around me. “I think I can handle this.” 

Thor took off into the sky, sailing over our heads to where Malekith was. 

“Alright.” I said, looking at the Elves. “Who wants to go first?” 

I clenched my fists, feeling the power build inside me before I released it, taking out the four closes Elves. I didn’t feel any fatigue like I did when I used my powers normally. Then again, I was possessed by an alien weapon. I turned as I heard beeping, spotting the machine shoved in the ground not far from me. I ran, finding I could run a lot faster than normal. A portal was created, sucking in the closest Elves to the machine. 

“Awesome.” I said, before one of the Elves shot at me. 

The Aether created a force field like barrier around me, the Elves’ shots bouncing off it. I didn’t even have to think it up. It just did it on its own. It was protecting me and I didn’t even have to do anything. Until I was sucked into a portal, finding myself further away from the courtyard than I was before. Two of the Elves fell to the ground beside me, and I quickly took them out, smashing them through the building. 

I went to run back towards the ship but suddenly found myself stumbling, falling to the ground in the Dark World. I shook my head, getting my bearings before I saw Thor and Malekith in front of me. Thor threw his hammer at Malekith, but it went straight through him and disappeared. I ran towards them as Malekith threw Thor back against a hill. I ran towards them, but suddenly found myself falling through the sky. I screamed, flailing like a baby bird before I found myself hitting the grass not far from the ship. 

“What the hell?” I breathed, sitting up in the middle of several Dark Elves. I looked around me as they all turned to me. “Oh crap.” 

I focused on my power again, building it up until I sent a blast out, the force throwing my body back against the ground, as well as the Elves in several directions. Some of them disappeared through portals, others crashing into the buildings. I got up off the ground, running through the buildings were I saw more Dark Elves. I jumped in front of Jane and three others, the Aether taking out all of the remaining Elves. 

“Skye!” I heard Jane shout from behind me. “How are you doing that?” 

“I have no idea.” I said, walking over to the group. “It’s doing it on its own.” 

“Where’s Thor and Malekith?” She asked me. 

“I don’t know. The last time I saw them they were in the Dark World. Who knows where they are-” 

“What is it?” Jane asked when I stopped short. 

“Malekith. He’s trying to control it. I have to get out of here.” 

“Go. We’ll find Thor.” 

I ran off towards the ship again, sliding to a stop when I saw Malekith. The portals in the sky were almost aligned. 

“The time has come.” Malekith said. “Darkness will return to the world.” I dug my heels in as he pulled me over towards him, but I was no use against his power. “You think yourself powerful, mortal? You are nothing compared to me.” 

He held his hand out and suddenly my feet were floating above the ground again. I felt like I was choking, the red tendrils of the Aether escaping my body. It burned unlike anything I’d felt before. It was like I was being ripped apart from the inside out. The Aether seemed to expand as it left my body, swirling around the both of us, encasing us in a blizzard of red. 

“You could never harness the power of the Aether.” Malekith said. I could feel the Aether stretching, reaching out into the realms, starting with Asgard. 

“Malekith!” I heard Thor shout. 

“Darkness returns, Asgardian.” 

“Have you come to witness the end of your universe?” 

“I have come to accept your surrender.” 

Thor threw one of the machines at Malekith, but he caught it. The machine beeped faster before disappearing, taking one of Malekith’s arms with it. I could feel his control over the Aether slipping, the pain in my body lessening slightly. Thor threw another and it hit his shoulder, taking his other arm. I started to withdraw the Aether, bringing it back into Earth. 

“You think you can stop this?” Malekith asked. “The Aether cannot be destroyed.” 

“But you can.” Thor said before running forward, the last machine in his hand. 

He jumped into the air, his hammer flying behind him before he impaled Malekith with the last machine, sending him flying back as well as Thor. I felt the hold on the Aether slip completely, my body falling to the ground as the Aether receded back inside my body. There were black dots clouding my vision as I hit the ground, the pain beyond belief. I felt like someone had torn out my organs and then shoved them back inside. My skin was glowing red as the Aether took its place back where it belonged. There was another shock wave as the last machine disappeared, taking Malekith with it. The ship began to crumble from the force of the shock wave.I covered my head, expecting to be buried by debris but a body grabbed mine, running to the side away from the crumbling and collapsing ship. I panicked, sending the body flying across the street as soon as we were clear of the buildings. I turned, expecting to see a large ship crashing to the ground, but it disappeared in a portal, hopefully landing right on top of Malekith. 

“Skye!” I spun around, finally remembering I had been grabbed, and carried away from the debris, then sent my savior flying into a building. 

I had to blink twice when I saw Steve running across the street towards me. “Steve!” I called out, holding a hand out in front of me. “Stop! Don’t come near me.” 

Steve stopped, holding his shield up a little. “What is it?” He asked, approaching me slowly. 

I backed away from him, not trusting the Aether to let him come close. 

“There’s something...dangerous inside me.” 

“It’s okay.” Steve said, continuing to come closer. “I trust you.” 

“Steve, I don’t want to hurt you. Not anymore than I already have.” 

I turned around when I heard someone calling my name. 

“Skye, you’re not going to hurt me.” I spun around, seeing Steve standing right behind me. “You’d never hurt me on purpose.” He breathed before pressing his lips against mine. 

I melted into the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck. I had missed him so much, and all of my love for him came out in the kiss. His arms wrapped around my waist, his shield clanking to the ground. I pulled him closer as his tongue licked along my bottom lip, asking for permission. I granted it, the kiss deepening as we became completely oblivious to everything around us. 

Until a throat cleared not far from us. We pulled away like a couple of teenagers caught making out by their parents. Only it was worse. It was Thor. Steve and I took a couple steps away from each other, and I was sure I was blushing just as much as he was. Steve coughed awkwardly before nodding to Thor. 

“Thor.” 

“Captain.” Thor turned to me. “Skye. Good to see you made it out in one piece.” 

I looked down at myself. “I think I did. At least I feel like it.” I looked down at my hands, seeing the red energy moving under my skin. “Though having this much power is kind of unnerving.”

“I will ask my father when I return to Asgard what to do. We will find a way to remove it, and get it into safer hands.” 

“Wait-hold on a minute. Get what into safer hands?” Steve asked, stepping closer to me protectively. 

“The Aether.” I said, turning to Steve. 

“The what?” 

“It’s an Infinity Stone. And ancient force with unmeasurable amounts of power.” 

“And it’s inside you?” Steve asked, turning to me.

“It wasn’t by choice.” 

“No, it chose you for a reason. It’s like a parasite, living off a person’s power, leeching off their life force until it cannot anymore.” 

Steve looked worriedly towards me. “I’ve contained it for almost two days, harnessed it and I’ve turned out alright. At least for now.” 

“Don’t worry.” Thor said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “We will get this figured out. Until then, return with the Captain, go back to your life as it was. I will contact you if I find any information.” 

I wrapped my arms around him in a hug. “Thank you, Thor. For everything.” 

“I should be thanking you. Without you, this would have gone far worse.” 

“I know. I’m just glad I could help. And apparently gained unmeasurable amounts of power as a bonus.” 

Thor smiled down at me before placing a hand on Steve’s shoulder. “Take care of her.” He said, giving Steve a look that would have had any normal man melting into liquid. “If any harm comes to her, I will find you, and I will make sure you suffer.” 

“That won’t be a problem.” Steve said, looking past Thor to me. “I swear on my life to keep her safe.” 

“Good.” Thor said, easing up a little, patting Steve’s shoulder. “I will be speaking with you soon.” Thor said, nodding to me. 

“I hope with good news.” 

We said our goodbyes, Steve picking up his shield before walking down the street with me a ways. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, my arm going around his waist. 

“Looked like a hell of a fight.” Steve said after a moment of silence, taking in the destroyed buildings around us. “Sorry I missed it.” 

“What are you doing here anyways?” I asked him. 

“SHIELD sent me. I was on a mission in London when they got the call that there was an alien ship in Greenwich, and Thor had been spotted.” 

“So you just left the mission?” 

“Natasha had it under control. We would have been here sooner, but we uh, ran into some difficulties.” 

“You got sucked into a portal, didn’t you?” 

“Yeah, we were almost landed, and suddenly we were somewhere else. Seconds before we crashed into the ground we were here again in a different spot. It was a little dizzying.” 

“Tell me about it.” I said, lacing my fingers with his. “Steve?” I said, stopping just outside the jet. 

“Yeah?” He asked, looking down at me. 

I reached up, undoing the chin strap on his helmet, pulling it off his head, his blonde hair tousled slightly. I reached up, smoothing it back as I stared up at him. My hand fell down to his cheek, my thumb running over his smooth skin. I stared into his blue eyes, completely lost in them, like I’d gotten lost so many times before. My fingers drifted down his cheek to his strong jaw, feeling the slight stubble under my fingers. 

“I...I’m glad you came. Even if you were late.”  

He smiled down at me, but I couldn’t help but notice the small amount of disappointment in his eyes. He cupped my cheek in his gloved hand, running his thumb over the skin. “I’m just glad you’re alright.” 

I smiled up at him, but I could quickly feel it diminishing as the guilt for not telling him washed over me. I turned, walking into the quinjet, Steve following after a moment. I said I was going to tell him, but I just couldn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. What was I so afraid of? I knew he loved me, so why couldn’t I just say it already? 

 


	65. Back to D.C.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there is smut in this chapter, just be warned. The only important part is about three paragraphs after the dream. After that you can skip it if you don't want to read smut.

_ I could feel the panic rising within me as I stared at the masked man stalking towards me. I had never felt so helpless before.  _

_ “Steve!” I shouted desperately to the unconscious super soldier behind me. I could hear the panic in my voice as I backed away from the masked man.  _

_ His eyes were the only thing I could see, and they were deadly. There was no emotion in them, just the cold stare of a predator hunting its prey. He was the lion, and I was the mother gazelle protecting its injured child. My back hit a truck behind me, and he lunged, faster than I could comprehend. His hand was solid, ice cold metal against my chest, his fingers curling in the dents of my clavicle. The knife in his hand pressed against my neck, not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to tell me he could end my life before I even knew it. But as I stared up into his eyes, their crystal blue depths piercing my soul, something changed.  _

_ The hand on my clavicle faltered a little, the knife not quite pressing as hard against my neck. His eyes softened just barely, that if I’d blinked, I wouldn’t have noticed it. His breathing picked up, a frown forming on the part of his face I could see, part of it hidden by his hair.  _

_ The knife was pulled away from my neck and he pulled his hand back, ready to stab it into my heart, but he faltered. He shook his head, taking a half a step back, but his hand never left my chest, still pinning me to the truck. The knife never left his hand, but it lowered down by his side.  _

_ “You’re...” His voice was rough, like it hadn’t been used much, and it had an accent to it, something I couldn’t place. “Not my mission.” His eyes turned back to me, and for a half a second I thought I was staring at a human being.  _

_ But I was wrong as shooting pain sparked in my leg, travelling upward. His body moved closer to mine, pinning me further against the truck. I could feel his breath through the mask, warm as it fanned against my ear, his other hand holding the knife in my thigh. His voice was quiet, the accent dropping for a moment, the metal hand pressing harder against my chest, almost crushing my sternum. He breathed against my ear for a beat before his head tilted further, and if he hadn’t been wearing the mask, I was sure his lips would have brushed against my ear.  _

_ “Run.”  _

I shot up onto my elbows, breathing hard. It took me a moment to get my bearings, remembering I wasn’t on Asgard anymore. I was back on Earth. I swallowed the lump in my throat, turning to look at the clock. It was just barely past three in the morning. The quinjet had taken us back to D.C, to SHIELD’s headquarters so Steve, well mostly me, could give the story of what happened. I left out some details, of course, but I gave them most everything of what happened on Earth. They had wanted to run tests on me and the Aether, but Steve had nixed that idea, saying it would be dangerous to do that since I was tired and I really just wanted to go home. 

Steve brought us back to his apartment, and I promptly passed out on the couch. Steve woke me up at some point to give me some food, but I had fallen asleep shortly after. My dreams were dark, filled with visions of destruction and death. At some point Steve had carried me to our bed and tucked me in. 

He was sleeping next to me, not even bothered by my movements. He had his back to me, his hand tucked under his face. His breaths were steady and slow, and I found myself mesmerized by the movement of his shoulder as he breathed. I wiped the sweat from my brow as I laid back down, pulling the sheets around me. I snuggled up against Steve’s back, leaning my head in between his shoulder blades. I wrapped an arm around his waist, slipping my hand under his undershirt, feeling the warm skin underneath. He was always warm, always comforting to be around. I slowed my breathing to match his, feeling myself drift back to sleep. 

I jolted awake when Steve’s alarm went off not even an hour later. Steve groaned, moving his hand to turn the alarm off. I hadn’t moved, and neither had Steve in the time that I’d curled up with him. Steve sighed, relaxing back against me, pulling my hand from under his shirt so he could lace our fingers together. 

“Going on your run?” I murmured against his back.

“Nah.” He whispered, snuggling back down into bed. “I think I’ll survive if I skip a day.” 

“You sure? I’ll be fine if you wanna go.” 

Steve rolled over, pulling me on top of his chest. I leaned my head on his shoulder, listening to the steady thump of his heart. His hands ran down my back, fingers trailing up and down my spine. 

“I’d much rather stay with you.” He whispered, placing a kiss on my forehead. “Plus I can think of another way to get my exercise.” 

I leaned up on my elbows so I was looking down at him, at the adorable half smile that was on his face. I studied him for a second before smiling back, leaning down to kiss him. His hands slid down my sides to my hips, holding me still. Our kiss quickly grew heated, Steve’s tongue invading my mouth, battling with my own. 

I pulled away for a second to breathe, sitting up, pulling him with me so I was sitting on his lap. I could feel him, already growing hard in his boxer briefs as I pulled his shirt over his head, revealing the smooth muscle underneath. One of Steve’s hands traveled up my back, his fingers tangling in my hair as he lightly pulled my head to the side, exposing my neck. His lips were soft against my skin, goosebumps covering my body as he traced my pulse, moving back towards my ear to the sweet spot he knew so well. I was putty in his hands, arching against him, my center brushing against his hardness, my body becoming hyper aware to his touches. His mouth left my neck, his hands sliding under my shirt to pull it over my head. His hands cupped my breasts immediately, his thumbs brushing over my nipples. A breathy moan left my lips as he massaged my breasts, my body becoming more and more sensitive the more aroused I grew. 

“Oh god.” I breathed, my hips rocking against his. 

“Are you okay?” He asked, his hands leaving my breasts, sliding down my sides. 

“Oh, fuck.” I breathed, my eyes closing as I rocked my hips against his harder. “I don’t think...I need you, Steve.” I moaned, my back arching as his fingers trailed down my spine. My chest was heaving, my breasts brushing against his chest with every breath. 

My fingers tangled in his hair, the strands softer than I’d ever felt before. I could feel every strand sliding against my skin. I was growing more and more hyper aware, the humming of the fridge loud in my ears, the hum of electricity through the apartment, the ticking of the clock in the living room. Despite the dim light coming from the rising sun outside, I could see everything clearly. I could almost sense Steve’s touches before he made them, his hands sliding down into the waistband of my underwear, smoothing over the skin of my ass. His breaths were coming in short gasps. I could feel the patch of wetness where precum had already started leaking from his tip, getting his briefs wet. My underwear was soaked, the smell of arousal heavy in the air. I knew Steve was holding back, but I didn’t want him to. 

I leaned my forehead against his, our skin already covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Our breaths mixed as my hips rocked against his, his hands gripping my ass tighter. 

“I need you to fuck me, Steve.” I breathed, my hands gripping his hair tighter. 

He groaned lightly, his hands sliding up my back before he flipped us, his body hovering over mine. His motions were desperate as he yanked my underwear down, tossing it somewhere behind him. His briefs quickly followed, his hand moving to my slit to test the waters for a moment. I was already soaking wet and his touch nearly threw me over the edge. I watched, my eyes hooded as he pumped his length a couple times, getting himself slick from my wetness before he pushed into me. 

My toes curled, my legs lifting to wrap around his waist so I could bring him closer to me. My back arched as he settled inside me, my walls already clamping around him tightly. 

“I don’t know how long I’m going to last.” I gasped out, wrapping my arms around his neck. 

“Me either.” He breathed, kissing the base of my throat before he started moving, his impressive girth filling me like I’d never felt before. 

“You’re so warm and tight.” He breathed, his pace picking up. “Oh god you feel so good.” 

My back arched against him, my brain not able to form words as nothing but moans left my mouth. I was having a sensory overload, every nerve in my body singing at the pleasure coursing through me. I was growing close to the edge, and I could feel Steve was as well, his even thrusts growing sloppy. I gripped his shoulders, flipping us over so I was on top. I started moving my hips, grinding against him as my head fell back, pleasure taking over all logical thought. 

I came with a cry, my back arched, head thrown back, hands gripping his muscular thighs. My chest was heaving as I felt him release inside me, his length twitching as he came, filling me with his warm seed. I opened my eyes, my head still thrown back and I saw it. 

It was like a red bubble that encased the bed. It wasn’t doing anything, just sitting there, dark red tendrils moving on its edges. I looked down at Steve, the blissful look on his face coupled with the awe at what he’d witnessed. It was then I realized all sound had been blocked out, and the only thing I could hear was our laboured breathing. My hands found his where they sat on my hips, our fingers lacing together as we stared at one another. 

“That was amazing.” He breathed, gasping slightly as I sat up, his length falling out of me. 

The bubble dissipated, the red energy of the Aether running along my skin before it disappeared. Steve’s fingers followed the path it took along my arm before he gently tugged me down so I was leaning on his chest. 

“It didn’t hurt you, did it?” I asked, looking up at his face. 

“No. It tickled, but that was it. It just came right out of you, forming a protective circle around you.” 

“It’s protecting me. It did the same thing during the battle in Greenwich. I didn’t even think about it, and it kept me from being shot by the Elves. It must have sensed I was in a vulnerable position, and it was protecting me.” 

“But it didn’t attack me.” 

“Because I don’t want it to.” I traced a pattern on his chest, my senses going back to normal. “It would really help if I could understand how it works.” 

“Yeah, so I don’t touch you and get thrown through a wall again.” 

“Sorry. I panicked. I didn’t know it was you. The Aether was just responding to how I was feeling. I promise I won’t throw you through a wall again. At least not on purpose.” 

“Okay good. I’ll remember not to sneak up on you.” 

“Hey, look at it this way. I’m less breakable now.” 


	66. Tony Finds Out

A week later, Steve and I found ourselves on my dad’s private jet on our way to New York for my birthday. Steve promised not to tell my dad that I went to Asgard, became the host of an Infinity Stone, and I’d fought against Dark Elves in Greenwich. I’d break the news to him myself. I knew he wouldn’t be happy, but I was almost 21. I was my own person. 

I was surprised when my dad didn’t pick us up from the airport, sending a driver to get us instead. It had been a while since I’d been in New York. Repairs from the battle had nearly been finished, and Stark Tower stood tall over the city. I held Steve’s hand, nervous about seeing my dad and Pepper for the first time in a long time. I just hoped the Aether didn’t act out before I got the chance to tell my dad. Last thing I needed was to send him flying through a wall and then have to tell him afterwards. 

Steve and I walked into the tower, the receptionist at the desk greeting us. I hadn’t expected to see a human sitting there. I’d figured my dad would switch to an AI. Well, she could just be for show. I knew JARVIS would scan everyone who entered and left the building. Oh crap. JARVIS. 

I punched in the code for the elevator that would take us up to the private area of the tower. It took a moment, my hand squeezing Steve’s tightly. I shouldn’t be this nervous to be seeing my own father. 

The elevator finally arrived and Steve and I made our way up to the top of the tower. I leaned my head on Steve’s shoulder as we waited for the elevator to reach the top. 

“Are you okay?” He asked, wrapping his arm around me. 

“Yeah. Just kind of nervous.” 

“It’s okay. I’ll be right with you every step of the way.” 

I smiled up at him, standing on my toes so I could kiss him briefly before the elevator dinged, signalling our arrival. He squeezed my hand reassuringly before the doors open, revealing Pepper. 

“Skye! So good to see you!” She said pulling me into a hug. 

I winced for a second before hugging her back. “I know. It’s been a long time.” 

“Too long.” She said, pulling away. Her eyes turned to where Steve was standing slightly behind me. “Captain Rogers. Nice to see you again.” 

“Steve is fine, Miss Potts.” He said, shaking her hand. 

“Alright, as long as you call me Pepper.” 

“Where’s my dad? Let me guess, in the lab.” 

Pepper nodded. “I tried, but he’s buried himself in there.” 

“That’s alright. I’ll just go and get him myself.” 

“Upstairs.” Pepper said as I walked across the living area towards the stairs. “You can go right in.” 

I went up the stairs, walking around to the lab door, my dad not even turning around when it hissed open. 

“Pepper, what time are they getting here again?” My dad asked, his nose buried in a computer screen. 

“Why don’t you ask them yourself.” I said, leaning against a table. 

My dad spun around in his chair so fast I thought he might fall over. His eyes widened when he saw me standing there. 

“Skye? When did you get here?” 

“Like five minutes ago.” I shook my head. “Can even tear yourself away to see your own daughter. Typical.” 

He pulled me into a hug, my arms wrapping around him as I buried my face in his shoulder. 

“I missed you.” He said, holding me tightly. 

“I know. I missed you too.” I said, my voice slightly muffled by his shoulder. 

“Where’s Capsicle?” He asked after he pulled away from me. 

“Steve is downstairs with Pepper.” I said, rolling my eyes. “You could at least start calling your daughter’s boyfriend by his name.” 

“Oh so you’ve escalated to boyfriend/girlfriend now?” 

“Yeah, we did a few months ago. I told you, remember?” 

He ran a hand over his face, thinking hard. “You know, it’s in there somewhere.” He placed his hands on my shoulders, smiling down at me. “I’m just glad he’s kept you safe, and in one piece.” 

“Well...kinda.” I said, rubbing my arm nervously.

“What do you mean ‘kinda?’” He straightened up a little. “Do I need to have a talk with him? Do I need to put on the suit and drop him off the edge of the building?” 

“No, dad, it’s nothing like that.” I said, trying to keep him from killing Steve needlessly. “It’s...” I sighed. “It’s a long story. I’d rather tell you and Pepper at once so I can get it over with.” 

“Well then let’s go down there and have some drinks and talk about it.” He said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as we walked towards the lab doors. 

“Dad, I’m not 21 yet.” 

“Since when has that stopped me?” 

“Good point.” 

My dad and I went down the stairs to where Pepper and Steve were talking. My dad greeted Pepper before we all went into the living area, taking a seat on the couches. 

“So what was it you needed to tell us?” My dad asked as he poured himself a glass of Scotch. 

“I’m assuming you heard about Greenwich.” 

“Yeah. It was all over the news.” 

“Well, uh, I had a vision about it and some other things and I went to Asgard to warn them that they were possibly going to be under attack-” 

“Hold on.” My dad said, holding his hand out. “You went to Asgard?” 

“Yeah. They are my family too. They said I was welcome there any time and I needed to warn them that they were going to be attacked.” 

“You went to Asgard?” My dad asked again, staring at me. 

“Yes, I think we cleared that up already.” Pepper said before turning back to me. “Why were they under attack?” 

“Well, as it turns out, there was an Infinity Stone called the Aether hiding somewhere in the reaches of the universe and Dr. Jane Foster found it and it invaded her body, and Thor took her to Asgard, after I was already there, and this race called the Dark Elves, who were originally in control of it, came back wanting to get ahold of it to plunge the nine realms into darkness again during the convergence which was centered in Greenwich, and Thor, Loki, Jane and I went to The Dark World because the Aether was killing Jane-” 

“Wait, Loki?” I could see my dad getting angry. 

Steve turned slightly to face me. “You didn’t tell me about Loki.” 

“It’s fine. I was safe. Anyways, Loki was the only person who knew how to get to the Dark World since Odin shut the Bifrost down. So Thor broke him out of his cell, and we escaped Asgard in an alien ship, went through a portal to the Dark World where Thor tricked Malekith, the leader of the Dark Elves, who wanted the Aether, into thinking that Loki betrayed him so he’d draw the Aether out of Jane, which then Thor tried to destroy it, and it didn’t work and now it’s inside me.” 

My dad and Pepper stared at me blankly for a moment. “You mean, this...infinity stone, this Aether is inside of you?”

“Yeah. It acts like a parasite, taking a host and slowly leeching off their power until it can’t, then it moves on. And it chose me as a host, instead of Malekith, so Malekith brought me back to Earth to try and use the Aether still to complete his plan, but we fought and Thor fought Malekith, and there were portals opening everywhere, and I almost destroyed the nine realms, but Thor stopped Malekith, and I almost got crushed by a giant alien ship, but Steve showed up and saved me, and I threw him through a wall-” 

“You threw Capsicle through a wall?” My dad asked, looking from me to Steve, then back again. 

“Yeah. I wasn’t expecting him to be there, and the Aether lashed out and it threw him through a wall.” 

My dad leaned back against the couch, taking a long drink of his Scotch. “Well that was quite the fiasco.” He said. “One question, though...what’s an Infinity Stone?” 

“An ancient force of unmeasurable power.” 

“And it’s inside of you?” 

“Yeah.” 

My dad sighed, standing up. He paced back and forth in front of the couches for a moment. “Skye, you always know how to get yourself into trouble.” 

“I know. It’s becoming a problem.” 

“Yeah.” He finally turned to face me. “I’d say so. Like how you’re now stuck with unmeasurable power inside you because you went to warn a city that’s far more advanced than we can comprehend that they might be under attack.” 

“Well, I wasn’t wrong.” I said, shrugging. 

“Yeah, but now you have a parasite living inside you.” 

“But I didn’t choose it.” I said, standing up, moving around the coffee table so we were facing each other. “It chose me for whatever reason.” 

“But if you would have thought things through, then this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.” 

My dad suddenly went flying back as the Aether lashed out at him, his glass shattering as he hit the ground. I gasped, taking a moment to process what had happened before I was running to his side, Pepper and Steve behind me.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” I said, falling to my knees beside my dad. “It only does that when it senses a threat. I don’t know how it works completely yet.” 

My dad stared up at me, an unreadable expression on his face. “I want Banner to run some tests. I wanna know how this thing works, and what exactly it’s doing inside you.” He got back to his feet with Pepper’s assistance. I got to my feet as well, straightening myself out. “You said it was killing Jane.” My dad said, looking down at me. 

“Yeah. She’d only had it in her for a couple days and it was already taking a toll.” 

“Well, I wanna know why you’ve had it for almost two weeks and you’re still perfectly fine.” 


	67. Birthday

I made my dad wait until after my birthday to run the tests. It was only supposed to be a small get together, but knowing my dad he had something bigger planned. Steve would have to go back to D.C. after the party for a mission, but I told my dad I’d stay so he and Dr. Banner could run tests on me. More tests on me, I should say. 

The party wasn’t anything big. My dad made reservations at my favorite restaurant and it was just me, my dad, Steve, Pepper, Rhodey and Dr. Banner who came. I was fine with that. We all sat around and ate a lot and got drunk. Well, my dad, Rhodey and I got drunk. Steve and Dr. Banner couldn’t, and Pepper refused to, saying she needed to keep my dad in line. I wanted to get drunk party to see if I actually could. I didn’t know if the Aether would keep me from getting drunk, or maybe it would be worse and start acting out. But I didn’t think about that much. 

I was only a little buzzed when we returned to the tower, Steve and I heading down to the apartment my dad had created for him. He’d created separate living spaces for all of the Avengers, in case they were ever in New York and needed a place to stay. He’d been generous when creating Steve’s apartment, granted he was teasing marriage, and it was now a running joke that his son-in-law could be older than him, and was friends with his dad. There were also a few jokes about cradle-robbing, but then again he was also drunk when we had that conversation. But I quickly reminded him that his almost in-laws were gods. 

“Wow.” I said when we walked into Steve’s bedroom, Steve flipping on the light. “This is awesome. I barely feel buzzed.” 

“Skye, you drank a bottle and a half of wine, plus two margaritas.” 

“What?” I asked, frowning at him as he took off his shoes, placing them neatly back in the closet. “I don’t feel like I drank that much. Well, my bladder feels it, but I don’t-” I was cut off by his lips pressing against mine. “What was that for?” I asked after he pulled away. 

“Just trying to see if I could get you to stop talking, doll.” 

“I think it worked.” I breathed before kissing him again. “...you taste like beer.” 

“Obviously it’s not working enough.” He said before slipping his hands under my ass to lift me into the air. I squeaked a little in surprise, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Those are the noises I want to hear.” 

His lips met mine again as he held me in the air like I weighed nothing. Our kisses grew more passionate, more needy as he walked us over to the bed, lowering himself down until my back met the bed, his body hovering over mine. He pushed me further up the bed, his lips trailing down my jaw to my neck. My back arched as he sucked on my sweet spot, a light moan leaving my mouth. My hips rocked up into his and I suddenly became aware again. 

“Steve?” I asked, placing my hands on his shoulders. 

He pulled away, a frown on his face as he looked down at me. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” 

“Can I go to the bathroom first?” 

Steve smiled, a laugh leaving his lips. “Yes, you can go to the bathroom first.” He said, rolling off of me. 

“Thank you.” I gave him a kiss before jumping off the bed, running to the bathroom. 

He was reclining on the bed in nothing but his briefs when I came out again. I took a moment to study every inch of hard muscle on his body before I ran over to him, practically jumping on top of him. He caught me easily, but we ended up rolling over, ending up on the floor at one point. 

()()()()0()()()()

_ “Steve!” I yelled, running through the trees. My heart was pumping, my blood racing as I ran, looking along the bank for any sign of his body. I’d watched him fall, but I didn’t even know if he’d made it out of the water. “Steve!” I yelled, desperation pitching my voice up higher.  _

_ And that was when I saw it. I came to a small clearing on the bank, seeing both the man with the metal arm and Steve there. Steve was unconscious, bleeding on the bank while the man stood over him. At the sound of my approaching footsteps he stood, his eyes landing on me. We stared at each other for what seemed like forever, neither of us moving. He looked to Steve, then back to me before turning and walking away. I watched him until I couldn’t see him anymore, my heart still pounding.  _

_ I turned back to Steve, rushing to his side. He was still breathing but he didn’t look good. Blood was staining the white of his suit, mixing in with the red stripes. I placed my hand over it to try and stop the bleeding.  _

_ “Skye?” I heard an unknown voice yell, my head turning in the direction I’d come from.  _

()()()0()()()

The light was peeking in the windows just slightly as I woke up. The clock on the nightstand read 7:45 AM. I groaned, burying my face back into the pillow, pulling the sheets back around my naked body. My eyes snapped back open as I looked back down at myself. It took a moment before the events of the night before flashed through my mind. A smile broke out on my face at the thought. Steve and I had been up until the early hours of the morning, neither of us able to keep our hands off each other. I smiled, sinking back into Steve’s warmth as he rolled over, his body curling around mine protectively. 

His grip around me was tight, and I realized his breathing was heavy. I could feel his heart racing against my back as he groaned a little in his sleep. I wiggled around so I was facing him, his brow furrowed, sweat starting to bead on his forehead. 

“Steve.” I whispered, freeing my hand so I could run it along his face. “Steve, wake up.” 

Steve jerked a little, his frown deepening. “No.” He whispered, so quietly I almost didn’t hear it. 

He jerked again and suddenly I found myself pinned under him. It happened so fast I couldn’t stop the Aether’s retaliation and it sent him flying off the bed. There was a thump as he hit the floor, a groan leaving him as he shook his head, still a little dazed. I slid out of the sheets, rushing to his side. 

“Steve, are you okay?” I asked, running my hands over his chest, looking for any injuries. 

“Well, I’m awake now.” He said, sitting up slightly. “What happened?” He asked, shaking the remaining sleep from his head. 

“You were having a nightmare. I tried to wake me up, but you pinned me to the bed. It all happened so fast the Aether just lashed out at you.” Steve stood, walking over to the side of the bed to grab his briefs. I couldn’t help but watch as he went. “But it’ll be okay.” I said, standing as well, walking over to my bag to grab some clothes. “My dad and Dr. Banner will figure out how it works, or Thor will figure out how to get it out of me and everything will go back to normal.” 

I was stopped with my pants halfway pulled on by Steve’s arms wrapping around me. He didn’t say anything just nuzzled his nose into my shoulder. I took a breath, relaxing back into him. We stayed that way for a while, just revelling in each other’s presence. 

“Were you dreaming about Bucky?” I asked finally, Steve’s arms stiffening around me. 

“Yes.” 

Steve dreamed about Bucky a lot. He still felt guilty about what happened, but I was always there to wake him up, to listen to him talk about Bucky. Talk about before the war. It always made him happy, talking about his past, about back when things were normal to him. He told me about Peggy. I knew he still loved her, that he always would, and it made it that much harder for me to tell him. I knew I couldn’t compare to Peggy. I was just Skye. Some girl he’d met after he’d been defrosted from being frozen for 70 years, and we’d happened to make a connection. I’d gone to him when I was in danger, and we’d quickly grown comfortable around each other. I was stability in an ever changing world, and he was a breath of fresh air from what I was used to. We’d quickly grown closer, spending days at a time fucking each other into the mattress, but was it real love? I knew there was no way he could feel the same way about me like he did Peggy. So I didn’t want to tell him just because I knew I’d get my heart broken.

“Skye?” I hadn’t realized he’d turned me around to face him. “You in there, doll?” 

“Yeah, sorry.” I said, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. “Just got lost in thought.” 

“I’m gonna have to head back today, but call me if you find out anything interesting. If I don’t answer then just leave me a message. I’ll get it eventually.” He leaned forward, kissing my forehead. “I’ll see you back in D.C., okay?” 

I nodded, wrapping my arms around him, tucking my head against his chest. It shouldn’t be this hard for me to let him go. 

Steve left, a quinjet picking him up at the airport to take him back to D.C. I had breakfast with my dad, and it was unusually quiet. 

“Dad, what aren’t you telling me?” 

“Huh?” He asked, his gaze snapping from the tablet in his hand to my face. 

“What aren’t you telling me? You’re way too quiet for this to be normal.” 

He shrugged. “I just got a lot on my mind.” 

“Mhm.” I said, not really believing him. “You’ve always been a terrible liar.” 

“So are you.” 

“Where do you think I get it from?” 

He sighed, placing the tablet down on the table. “I wanted to do something special for you. Something...I don’t really know if it’s stupid or not-” 

“I could say that about a lot of things that you’ve done.” 

He silenced me with a look. “Now that you’re legal, and obviously in a very committed relationship.” 

“How did you-” 

“I know the look. You’re both very comfortable around each other physically. I saw how close you were sitting, the way he looks at you. Plus you sleep in the same bed. I never took Cap as one who’d give it up before marriage, though.” 

“Are you going somewhere with this?” I groaned, not really wanting to talk about my sex life with my dad. 

“I didn’t bring you here to talk about how my daughter’s sleeping with a 90 year old American icon.” Well, he wasn’t wrong. “You’re an adult, you can do what you want. I wanted to do something that I should have done more often when you were younger.” He paused for a beat, studying my face. “I want to take you to see your mother.”  


	68. You Killed Her

My dad and I boarded the private jet the next day to take us to L.A. so we could visit my mom. I was terrified, still not quite sure what I was supposed to get from this visit. If he was hoping she could tell us about the Aether, he had high hopes, considering how our last visit went. 

“You look nervous.” My dad said as we were taken to the hospital. 

“Well yeah. I’m about to visit my insane alien mother while ancient unmeasurable power sits inside me, waiting for a threat to come close to me so it can destroy it.” 

“She’s your mother. She’s not a threat.” 

“Tell that to the Aether.” 

“I’m telling that to the person who controls it.” 

We checked in at the hospital and the orderlies took us to my mother’s room. She was sitting on her bed, her head down, muttering to herself. I couldn’t understand what she was saying, and I was about ninety percent sure she wasn’t speaking English. Her head snapped up when the door shut, her eyes landing right on me. It was unnerving how clear they were compared to the last time she was here. She stood up, taking a few shaky steps towards me, her hand reaching out. I took an involuntary step back closer to my dad. 

“There is darkness inside you.” She said, stepping right up in front of me. She placed her hands on my face, her eyes changing from light brown to blue as she stared at me. 

I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me as my life flashed in front of my eyes, literally. I saw my childhood, all the way until now, and then beyond. Things I had seen already, and then some that I hadn’t. 

_ I watched as Steve was impaled by a spear, his body falling to the ground. I screamed, running as fast as I could towards him, but it wasn’t fast enough. I felt like I was running through molasses, every step getting harder. I finally reached him, my body falling next to his, but he was already dead. He’d taken too many hits, and his body had given in. The tears fell like rivers down my cheeks as I screamed in agony.  _

_ My scream was cut short when a spear pierced through my chest, cutting off my scream. I choked on my own blood as the Aether was ripped from my body, but I was too numb to feel anything. My body fell forward, falling onto Steve’s chest as I took my final breaths on the man that I loved before everything went dark.  _

I snapped back to reality, breathing hard, my skin glowing before my mother was pushed back by the Aether. She stared at me wide eyed, like she’d seen everything I had. For all I knew, she had. 

“You’ve already killed her!” She screamed, turning to my dad. “You brought this on her and you’ve killed her!” Two orderlies came in, holding her back from lunging at him. “She’ll die because of what you did!” 

My dad stepped up to her. “Tell me how it works. How does she control the Aether?” 

“She can’t.” My mom laughed. “There is only one who can harness the power of the Infinity Stones. And he’ll kill her to get it.” 

“Thanos.” I whispered, having an epiphany in the middle of a mental hospital. “That’s what he meant.” 

My mom’s head snapped to me as she fought the orderlies, her eyes wide. “She’s already seen how it ends. She’s spoken to him. He will take it, and everyone will die!” 

A nurse came in, injecting a sedative into her neck. “It’s all your fault, Tony. It’s all your fault.” 

The orderlies put her back on the bed, strapping her down to it. My dad grabbed my arm, dragging me from the room. I rubbed my head, my brain throbbing from the intrusion. 

“You okay?” 

“Yeah. Just a headache.” I said, shrugging it off. It was more than a headache, but I really didn’t want to tell my dad I’d just watched how I died. “I hope you got the answers you were looking for.” 

“That and more” 

He was silent all the way to the airport, but I wasn’t exactly in the mood to talk either. I wasn’t exactly sure what to make of the visit, but I knew I probably wouldn’t be going back. Not if it was going to be like that. Not if I was going to see myself die over and over again. I didn’t want to believe that it could be true, but with the dreams I’d been having lately...who knew. That’s what I just had to tell myself. Maybe Malekith had been right when he said the future can change. But so far, that hadn’t been the case. 

“So, you want to tell me who Thanos is?” My dad asked after we were in the hair, halfway to New York. 

“No one. Just some stupid dream.” 

“Then why do I get the feeling it’s much more than that?” 

“I just...had a couple dreams that were a little weird with a guy named Thanos in them. It doesn’t mean anything.”    
“But your dreams actually do mean something.” 

“Oh, so now you believe that I can see the future?” 

“Yes, okay? What what I’ve seen over the past two days, yes.” 

I shook my head. “I wasn’t seeing the future then. It was while I was still dreaming of Loki. For all I know it could’ve been him playing with me. Trying to get a rise out of me.” It wasn’t a total lie. “Look, just because my insane mother ‘knew’ what a name I said meant, doesn’t exactly mean it’s true. You heard what else she said. You can’t actually believe her, can you?” 

My dad was silent for a while as he sat across from me. “No.” He finally said. He knew I was right about that much, but I didn’t want to break it to him that his insane ex-fiancee was actually right about something. That could wait until the time came. 

We landed a few hours of awkward silence later in New York, where it was pouring a rain/snow mix. The ride to the tower was silent as my dad and I were off in our own worlds. We didn’t say anything as we entered the tower, the elevator ride seeming to take days to get to the top. 

“What happened?” Pepper asked as soon as we stepped off. 

“Nothing.” My dad and I said at the same time. 

My dad went to go to his lab, but Pepper caught him by the back of the shirt, pulling him back. “There is far too much awkward air in this room right now, so don’t ‘nothing’ me.” 

Pepper made my dad and I sit across from each other on the couches while she sat facing us. 

“Now. Tell me what happened.” She said. 

“My mom knew I was possessed by the Aether as soon as she saw me.” 

“And she did something to Skye. Her eyes went all blue and she was touching Skye, and they both looked like they were in a trance. Skye broke away first, sending her flying back with the Aether and she started yelling about how I’d already killed her.” 

“And he asked her how the Aether worked, and why I could control it.” 

“And she said that Skye couldn’t, and that there was only one that could. And Skye said his name and she went off about how Skye’d already met him and talked to him.” 

“And what was the name?” Pepper asked. 

“Thanos.” I said. “I had a dream about him way back when I was still dreaming about Loki. It doesn’t mean anything that my mother knows who he is. I could have said any name and she would have said the same thing.” I said, leaning back in the chair. 

“But Skye can see the future.” My dad said to Pepper before turning back to me. “What if she’s right? You’re acting like this doesn’t mean anything.”    
“Tony.” Pepper said, pulling his attention off of me. “Think about how you sound right now. You’re saying there’s a possibility a woman who lost her mind could be right.” My dad sunk down in the couch much like how I was sitting. “Are you going to believe the rambling of an insane woman, or your daughter, who’s sitting right across from you.” 

My dad chewed on his lip for a second before sighing. “You’re right.” He held out his hand towards me. “Come here.” I got off the couch, moving around the coffee table so I was sitting next to him. “We’re gonna figure this out, okay? Don’t take what your mother said to seriously, and I won’t either. For all we know she could be making all of this up in her delusional world. I mean, she used to say that you were going to kill her while you were still in the womb. I’m sorry for not listening to you better.” 

“It’s okay. I mean, it is a lot to take in when you're being shouted at that you’re responsible for killing your child when she’s not even dead yet.” 

“I know. Dr. Banner and I are going to figure out how this thing works, and we’re gonna fix this, okay? Everything’s going to be okay.” 

Given his track record whenever he said that, I was just a tad concerned. 

 


	69. Lab Rat

My dad woke me up early, wanting to get jump started on testing the Aether. He was a little too excited for this, and it worried me. He dragged me down to the lab, still half asleep and in my pajamas, thankfully I’d remembered to wear those. Dr. Banner was there, looking just as tired as I felt. 

“Morning Dr. Banner.” I said through a yawn, nodding to him as my dad ushered me over to a table. 

“Good morning, Skye.” 

“Up.” My dad said, patting the table. 

I turned, jumping up so I was sitting on the table. Dr. Banner wheeled a cart over. 

“Okay. We’re gonna run some basic tests first: blood pressure, heart rate, take a blood sample.” 

“Then we get into the fun stuff.” My dad said, smiling at me. 

I looked from him, then back to Dr. Banner. “Does he have to be here?” I asked as Dr. Banner placed the blood pressure cuff on my arm. 

Dr. Banner looked to where my dad was standing, then back to me. “He insisted.” He shrugged. 

I looked back to my dad. “Just...don’t stand too close. You of all people know what it can do.” 

“Yeah. Thanks for the first hand demonstration.”

Dr. Banner ran the first tests without any incident. Everything looked normal from those tests, he said. I guessed that was a good thing. 

“Okay, Skye, while we wait for the blood test to finish, I need you to lay back for me.” I scooted up the table before laying down on it. The metal was cold against my skin, but I didn’t care. It felt nice. Dr. Banner began sticking sensors to my skin.  “These are going to help JARVIS show us what’s going on under the skin without having to do any poking, prodding, or serious tests.” He stuck the last sensor on before turning to pick up a scanner from the table behind us. “This might tickle a little, but try your best not to move.” Dr. Banner said before running a scanner over my body. “Okay, you can relax now.” He said, placing the scanner down. 

“Show her to us, J.” My dad said. 

“I’m uploading the image now.” JARVIS said and suddenly I was staring at a holographic version of my body. It looked somewhat normal, aside from the swirling red mass centered around my chest and stomach area. 

Dr. Banner pulled his glasses off, staring at it with his mouth open. “Oh wow.” 

“‘Wow?’ Doctors aren’t supposed to say ‘wow.’” I said, moving my head slightly. I gasped a little as the hologram made the same motion. 

“It’s completely taken over.” Dr. Banner said. “You were right. It is like a parasite.” He said to my dad. Dr. Banner enlarged the hologram so he could see every little detail inside of my body, including my brain activity. “It’s connected to her brain, but it’s centered at her core.” He said, sliding the hologram down further. He shrunk the hologram down smaller. 

“Skye, move your finger.” My dad said, looking past the hologram to me. 

I moved my finger, the hologram doing the same, except part of the swirling red mass moved down towards my finger, only to go back to my chest after I stilled. 

“Fascinating.” Dr. Banner said. “Move your arm.” 

I moved my arm, watching as the red mass moved down to my arm, and then back when I set it back down. My dad moved from behind the hologram, grabbing something from another table. I turned to watch what he was doing. 

“Skye, look away.” He said. 

“Wha-Why?” 

“Tony, I don’t think that’s such a good idea-” 

I yelped as something touched my arm, the Aether lashing out instinctively, knocking over everything within three feet of me. My dad picked himself back up off the floor, looking at Dr. Banner. 

“That was incredible.” He said, watching the hologram as the Aether slid back into its resting spot in my chest. 

“JARVIS, did you get that?” My dad asked, dusting himself off. 

“Yes, sir. All events have been documented and recorded.” 

“Good. We might need that later.” 

Something beeped and Dr. Banner walked over to a tablet. “Blood test is finished.” 

“What does it look like, Doc?” My dad asked. 

“Blood cell count is off the charts. It’s like they're being produced at double the normal rates. And there’s something else.” 

“What?” My dad asked, standing at the foot of the table. 

“The Aether is in her blood. It’s somehow worked its way inside her cells, and its manipulating them. If you could get close enough and manage to cut her or shoot, it would heal twice as fast.” Both of them looked over to me. 

“Oh no.” I said, jumping off the table. “You are not shooting me with anything.” I said, pointing to my dad. “Or stabbing me.” 

He raised his hands in defense. “I didn’t plan on it.” 

“Skye.” Dr. Banner said, looking at the hologram. “I want to try something else. Something less dangerous.” 

“What did you have in mind?” 

Dr. Banner and my dad moved everything that could possibly get knocked over against the wall, clearing out a large space in the middle of the lab. Dr. Banner and my dad stood a ways away from me, still looking at the hologram. 

“Okay, Skye, he’s going to throw this at you, and what I want you to do is use your powers as you normally would to do...whatever it is that you would normally do, okay?” 

I nodded, getting ready for when my dad threw it. I barely saw it coming through the air before I had time to hold my hand up, the Aether taking over instead of my usual powers stopping it. It bounced off the force field the Aether created, flying right over my dad’s head, and through the lab window.

“Sorry!” I said, cringing as it hit the ground below. “You haven’t have come up with break-proof glass yet?” I asked, looking at my dad. 

He shrugged. “Never really thought about it.” 

I sighed, rolling my eyes. 

“Did you get what you needed?” My dad asked Dr. Banner. 

“Yeah.” Dr. Banner said. “This is incredible.” He said, moving back over to the table where I sat. “Have you noticed anything else that’s changed since you were...enhanced?” 

“My stamina’s improved.” 

“I did not need to hear that.” My dad said from across the lab where he was moving things back in place. 

“Then don’t listen.” I said, turning to him. “When I get...excited, my heart rate picks up, my senses get better. I can see, hear, smell things that I normally can’t. It almost becomes a sensory overload.” 

Dr. Banner nodded, writing something down before looking to me. “I want to try one last thing before we’re done here, if it’s alright will you.” 

I nodded, swallowing my nerves. 

I laid back down on the table as Dr. Banner cleaned the skin on the inside of my elbow with an alcohol pad. He reached over, grabbing a needle. 

“This is epinephrine. It’s not enough to do any serious damage, if my calculations are correct, but we do have a backup if we need it. We just want to see how the Aether reacts when your body is put under stress like an adrenaline rush.” 

I nodded, relaxing as he injected it into my bloodstream. He stepped back by my dad, watching the hologram. It took a couple seconds, but I felt my heart rate start to pick up, my body shaking slightly from the adrenaline. I could already feel my senses enhancing, the buzzing of the electronics in the lab, the smell of chemicals, the alcohol from the wipe stinging my nose, my dad’s aftershave. Even the microscopic dust particles in the air. My breathing picked up, a sweat covering my body as my heart rate skyrocketed, red tendrils of the Aether slipping out of my skin, floating above me before a red force field surrounded me. It was almost like it knew what I was thinking. 

It took maybe an hour for the effects of the adrenaline to wear off, the force field shrinking back into my body. I felt tired after the rush, but I knew I’d be back to normal after a few minutes. 

“That’s the last test I need.” Dr. Banner said. “It’s amazing, this...Infinity Stone.” He said as he peeled the sensors off my skin. “When you’re like this, relaxed, in a non threatening environment then it’s almost like it sleeps inside you. When it doesn’t sense a threat, it doesn't feel the need to be at the surface, so it reverts itself so you barely even notice it. But when you’re heart rate picks up, or you sense a threat, it’s almost like it’s protecting you. It’s enhanced your powers beyond anything we can understand. It’s almost like it’s a...sixth sense. It protects you when you’re at your weakest, or you’re scared, and it lashes out when you feel threatened or angry.” 

“So there’s no way to get it out of me?” 

“Not that I can see.” 

Well, I knew that wasn’t exactly the case. 


	70. Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a bit of smut at the beginning, but the ending is important. I'm such a horrible person.

I spent two more days in New York before flying back to D.C. Steve was supposed to be home the same day I was, but I got a call from SHIELD saying they were delayed a little and he probably wouldn’t be home until the next morning. I was a little worried about what ‘delayed’ entailed, but I tried not to let it bother me. I contemplated telling Thor of our discoveries, but I didn’t want to bother him if he was busy. So I sat alone in the apartment until I fell asleep on the couch, the TV playing some 80’s movie in the background. 

I woke up the next morning when the door slammed open. I was on high alert, my mind racing as I pictured what kind of evil could be coming through that door. I sprang up off the couch, taking a fighting stance to prepare myself. And then I saw him. 

His muscles were tense, fists clenched, shoulders squared. He was breathing hard, sweat dripping down his face from his messed up hair. His eyes were like daggers piercing into my soul as he stared at me, a hungry look taking over them. He was in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, his muscles on full display. He wasn’t carrying anything, which was unusual. 

“Steve?” I asked as he charged forward like a lion, grabbing me by the arms, my back hitting the wall painfully hard. “Steve?” I asked again as he gripped my jaw, bringing his lips down to mine forcefully. 

He had me pressed so hard against the wall I could barely breathe, his mouth devouring mine not helping much. I tried to push him back, my hands moving to his shoulders, but he wasn’t budging. I could feel him, rock hard pushing against me. I panicked slightly, some rather traumatizing event popping into my mind as my breaths came in short bursts through my nose. I hit at his shoulders, trying to get him to move, but he just bit my lower lip, almost breaking the skin. I yelped slightly, the Aether finally pushing him away slightly, but just out of arm’s reach. 

“Steve, what the hell?” I said, wiping my face with my sleeve. “I mean, I missed you too, but...what the hell?” 

“Sorry.” He breathed, still panting hard. “Sex pollen. They gassed us with it, which is why we were late. I tried in the shower...but nothing worked. So I ran here, for your help.” 

“You ran all the way here with a boner?” I asked, looking down to where I could see him through his sweatpants. I started to feel bad now. That must have been painful. “It’s okay.” I said, the Aether slowly backing off of him. “Just...warn me next time, or something. I mean, I’m not complaining about getting my bones jumped by an incredibly sexy man, but something. A phone call, text, something to give me at least a little warning next time.” I pulled him closer, jumping so my legs wrapped around his waist. “Now, do what you need to do.” 

He wasted no time as his lips met mine, his touch a little gentler now, but none less needy. I tightened my legs around him as he made his way blindly to the couch, dropping me down on it. His lips went to my neck, his hand sliding down into my shorts, teasing my slit. I gasped, my legs widening for him as he circled my clit with his calloused finger, his lips and teeth working over my sweet spot. 

I slid my hand down his abs, slipping it under his sweatpants. “No underwear?” I asked as I gripped him in my hand, his tip already dripping precum. He felt like he was going to explode at any second. 

“Too much friction.” He gasped out, his fingers dipping into my center. “Do you know how hard it is, to have to sit on a plane with six other riled up men, can’t even touch ourselves, having to try not to think about you. Your soft skin,” He curled his fingers inside me, a moan leaving my lips. “The sounds you make when I touch you. The face you make when you come undone. I tried to pretend it was your hand in the shower, but nothing was working. So I ran here.” He kissed my throat before pulling his fingers from my center, tugging my shorts down with my underwear. 

I tugged at his sweatpants, giving them the hint that they needed to go, and that they did. 

He lined himself up, sinking into me slowly before his hips started moving, setting a brutal pace from the start. He laid his body out over mine, his forehead leaning against mine as he pounded me into the couch. 

“Oh god, I love you.” I breathed, my heart stopping as the words left me. 

He stilled for a moment, leaning up to look at me and I was terrified for a second I’d just ruined everything. His mouth opened and closed a couple times. “I...I-” 

I jolted awake when a blanket was draped over me. I blinked the sleep from my eyes, staring up at the blurry face above me. 

“Hey.” I croaked out, my voice still heavy with sleep. 

“Hey. I didn’t want to wake you up. You were sleeping hard when I came in.” 

“I was having a good dream.” I said, laying my head back down on the pillow. 

“What was it about?” 

“An incredibly sexy guy.” 

“Oh yeah?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at me. 

“Tall, handsome, muscles to die for. Gorgeous blue eyes and the softest blonde hair. A total gentleman too. A little old fashioned, but it’s refreshing.” He smiled at me, a pink tint on his cheeks. “Very good in bed, despite what some may say.” I squeaked a little as he picked me up off the couch, walking towards his bedroom. “You sure know how to sweep a girl up off her feet, Captain Rogers.” 

“Well, I’ve gotten a lot of practice, thanks to this gorgeous dame.” He dropped me on the bed, laying diagonally so he was looking up at me. “Dark hair, the most gorgeous chocolate eyes, the smoothest skin, a little rough around the edges, but she’s the sweetest thing once you get to know her.” I smiled, pulling him up for a kiss. “Sorry I got back late. Our extraction zone was compromised, and the closest they could land was 10 miles away, so we had to hike it. And we had an extra long debriefing afterwards.” 

“Well good. I was worried you’d been kidnapped or worse.” 

“Yeah, you looked awful worried dozing on the couch.” 

“Hey! It’s been a long couple of days.” 

“Did your dad and Banner run some tests.” 

“Yes.” I groaned. 

“And?” 

“Well, there’s no way to get it out, at least on Earth. It’s really like a parasite. It’s in my brain, in my blood cells. The good news is, though, that it’s manipulating my cells so that if I were to get stabbed or shot, I’d heal twice as fast. And it’s like a protective barrier. When I’m relaxed like this, it sleeps inside me. But whenever I use my powers, or there’s a threat, then it becomes almost like a sixth sense, protecting me when I don’t even know I need it. Granted that has a few downfalls.” 

“Yeah. I’ve felt those.” 

“I said I was sorry.” I said, pouting. “What more do you want from me?” 

Steve leaned down, pressing a kiss to my lips. I ran my fingers through his hair, not caring that he was a tad bit sweaty and dirty from his mission. 

“Steve?” I asked, pulling away from him, my hands still in his hair. 

His hand cupped my face, his thumb running over my lips. “What is it, doll?” 

I took a deep breath, my heart pounding, my hands shaking just a little. “Steve...I...I love you.” 

He stared down at me, wide eyed, his mouth slightly open. 


	71. Love

I laid there, my heart pounding in my ears, nerves taking over my entire body. I was terrified this was going to end like it did in my head. Where he yelled at me to get out, and I’d never see him again. He blinked at me a couple times before leaning down, pressing a soft kiss against my lips. I was taken aback for a moment, and it took me a second to kiss him back. 

He pulled away, leaning his forehead against mine, our breaths mingling. “I love you so much.” He breathed. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” 

“Oh god, I was so scared to tell you. I wanted to for the longest time, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, because I was scared you didn’t love me back.” I said, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. 

“I love you, Skye. I do. And I made a promise to your dad, and to Thor that I’d protect you.” His thumb ran along my bottom lip as he held himself up over me with his other arm. “And I intend to keep that promise. Granted things are going to get a lot harder now.” 

“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning at him. 

“They’re building an exhibit at the Smithsonian in honor of me.” 

“What?” 

“Yeah. Now the whole world will know who I am. Who I was.” 

“I don’t know whether to congratulate you, or feel sorry for you.” 

“Nah, it was only a matter of time before the world found out.” 

“Well, at least now you won’t be my mystery man. They can actually place a name to the face. I can see the headlines now: Skye Stark’s Mystery Man Revealed! Tony Stark’s Daughter Dating 90 Year Old War Veteran Steve Rogers! Howard Stark’s Granddaughter Dating the Man He Helped Make Famous!” I giggled against Steve’s lips as he kissed me, effectively shutting me up. 

“The perks of being famous.” He said, smiling down at me. 

“Let’s just see what kind of ridiculous rumors they can come up with.” 

“It doesn’t matter what they say. We know the truth, and that’s all that matters.” 

Life went on for Steve and I. We fell back into our routine, something that was becoming easier and easier to do the more time we spent together. He went on his missions, I stayed home, playing housewife and then he’d come home, we’d spend the day in bed together, then we’d start our other routine. He’d get up, go for a run, I’d have breakfast ready when he came back, then I’d spend the rest of the day teaching him, taking him out, showing him new things. It took longer than you’d expect to adjust to 70 years of change. To learn everything. My dad had jokingly sent us history textbooks, which I was actually grateful for in the end. I often found Steve sitting, reading over everything that he’d missed, and even sometimes about the war. 

He still had nightmares, as did I, but we were there for each other. I’d let him talk, or I’d lay there until he fell back asleep, stroking his hair, whispering to him. He’d comfort me, holding me until I calmed down, pressing gentle kisses to the top of my head, playing with my hair. We knew each other inside out, which made it easy to notice the changes happening. 

Steve used to leave his shield by the entryway, so in case someone broke in, he could grab it and use it. Now he kept it by the bed, leaning against his nightstand. I often times laid awake at night, laying on his chest while he slept, staring at the shield as the moonlight coming through the window hit it. I knew it was like an extra limb, a protective blanket for him. It was the one thing he’d come out of the ice with, the thing that had saved his life so many times, and even saved mine. So I let him keep it close. There were times he’d be up in the middle of the night and I’d have a nightmare, and he’d come bursting through the door, shield in hand. It was reassuring, knowing he was willing to go that far to make sure we were kept safe, because I knew there were people in this world that wanted to do bad things to him, and my dad, and I was the one thing that could tear them both apart. 

My dad and Pepper came to D.C. for Thanksgiving, and we had Natasha over as well, the three of us girls going Black Friday shopping the next morning. It was nice, being able to act like a normal person again, not having to worry about the Aether, or threats breathing down my back. My visions had lessened lately, becoming more and more scarce which was worrying. 

Steve and I spent Christmas and New Year's in New York at the Tower. Steve took me around, showing me the neighborhood he grew up in, we went out and went ice skating, it was a nice break from all the stress we’d been under. 

Life went back to normal after the holiday’s. Steve had one mission in January, which was an unusual change. He seemed stressed when he came back from it though. More stressed than usual. 

“You okay, babe?” I asked as I lay on his chest. I’d let him take his frustrations out on me, which I thought had helped, but he still seemed kind of tense. 

“There’s something fishy going on in SHIELD.” He said finally, after a moment of silence. 

“They are an intelligence agency that knows a little too much, if you ask me. There’s bound to be some secrets.” 

He sighed. “I know. But something doesn’t feel right.” 

“You’re Captain America. You’ll figure it out. You always figure it out.” 

 


	72. The Winter Soldier: A Lot On My Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! We're into the Winter Soldier! There is some smut in this chapter, from the second paragraph to the dream, so if you don't want to read it, you can skip it.

Steve only went on one mission in the time span between February and March. He said it was a nice break, but I could see him squirming in his seat. So I took him out as much as I could. I even went on a run with him once, which he quickly lapped me on. Several times. I eventually just gave up, waiting until he was done before we went home. He started teaching me some basic self defense, hand-to-hand combat, where he quickly learned the Aether was good at doing that for me, but it was still nice knowing a few things. His exhibit at the Smithsonian was a hit, his face covering magazines and newspapers across the country. We had yet to go, waiting for the crowds to die down a little before we tried to get in without being noticed. 

We’d been growing even closer to each other in our relationship, if that was even possible. We weren’t just physically closer now, but also mentally and emotionally. Sometimes I felt like I could feel what he was feeling. Even once I could have sworn I’d felt his pain, even though it was probably just me overreacting. 

“Hey, doll, you okay?” Hands on my face brought me out of whatever trance I’d been in. 

I looked back down to Steve, at his flushed face, pupils dilated, his chest heaving as he breathed. There was a sheen of sweat over his skin, covering his chest, all the way down to his...oh right. 

“Are you in pain?” He asked, shifting slightly under me. 

“No, sorry. Just got lost in thought there for a second.” I said, taking his hands and placing them on my hips. 

“You got lost in thought in this position?” He asked, staring at me conspicuously. 

“It’s not hard to do! At least not for me anyways.” I said, running my hands up his abs as I started moving my hips, grinding against him. 

“That’s-ungh-good to know.” He said, his grip on my hips tightening. 

I slid my hands up to his shoulders, pulling him up into a sitting position, my body still moving against his. “I was thinking about you anyways.” I whispered, nipping at his plump lower lip. “How much I’m gonna miss you these next couple days.” 

“It’s not that long of a mission.” 

“But when I’ve had you for almost two months to myself. No interruptions.” I bit my lip, moaning lightly as his hips thrust up into mine for a moment. 

“Greedy little thing, aren’t you.” He groaned, his grip on my hips tightening even more as he moved me. 

“Only when it comes to you.” I said, nipping at his perfect jawline. 

His hands left my hips, wrapping around my back as he laid us back down, shifting his hips so he was thrusting up into me. I buried my face in his shoulder, panting and moaning as he pistoned into me, the sound of flesh hitting flesh loud in the room. My nails dug into his shoulders as I felt myself going over the edge, my teeth sinking into his shoulder lightly, leaving a bruise. His grip around me tightened as his hips stilled, his length twitching as he came.

He slipped out of me with a groan, pulling the sheets up around us before shutting the lamp off. He shifted slightly, getting to a more comfortable position before relaxing, his arms wrapping loosely around me. 

“You had to bite me?” He asked, tilting his head down a little. 

“I got carried away.” I said, shrugging a little. “Plus, now I’m the one that’s marked you.” 

“You know it’ll be gone my morning, right?” 

“Yeah, yeah. At least let me revel in it now. Not like anyone would see it anyways.” 

I felt his jaw lift a little as he smiled, tilting his head to place a kiss on my forehead before he settled back down, both of us falling asleep. 

_ “What are we going to name him?” I asked, running my hands over my protruding stomach.  _

_ “I don’t know.” Steve said, moving to stand behind me, his hands folding over mine. I stared at our hands resting over the bump where our child was growing, thinking for a minute.  _

_ “How about James?”  _

_ I felt Steve tense behind me for a moment before he relaxed, gently turning me around to face him. “Are you sure?”  _

_ I smiled at him. “He’s your brother in all but blood, Steve. The least we can do is name our son after him.” I said, turning back around to face the mirror.  _

_ “James Anthony Rogers.” Steve said, leaning his chin on my shoulder. “I like it.”  _

_ I tilted my head, giving him a sweet kiss. “I knew you would.”  _

My eyes fluttered open, rays of sunlight streaming in from behind the curtain. I was laying on my stomach, curled around a pillow. Steve must have left already. I curled back up, squeezing the pillow tighter in my arms, imagining it was Steve. His arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly. I sighed, the scent of our activities last night heavy in the air still. I needed a shower, then I needed to clean. Steve was good about keeping things clean and orderly. You can take the man out of the military, but you can’t take the military out of the man. I never ended up making the bed, as it was almost therapeutic for him to do it. As was folding his own clothes, keeping them ordered in his drawers the way he liked, and how he complained that the bed was too soft. That one I was not willing to let him have his way. I told him if he didn’t like it, he could sleep on the floor. And there were some nights he took that advice. Usually when he had trouble sleeping, I’d find him on the floor, using a single pillow and blanket, sleeping stiff as a board. It couldn’t have felt good in the morning, but I wasn’t going to stop him. I let him do what he needed to do, and it worked for us. 


	73. The Smithsonian

“Hey.” Steve said as he closed the door. 

“Hey.” I said, pausing the TV. I had been binge watching a new show on Netflix and hadn’t even realized what time it was. I leaned my head back as Steve bent over the back of the couch, giving me an upside-down kiss. “How was your mission?” I asked as I followed him to the bedroom. 

“Successful.” He said, taking his dirty clothes out of the bag, putting them in the hamper. “Though I was right about SHIELD hiding stuff from me.” 

I moved his shield slightly before sitting down on the bed. “What were they hiding?” 

“Well, apparently there was another element to the mission besides rescuing hostages. And SHIELD has been working on a secret project that they needed data from the ship in order to finish it. Something I had no knowledge of.” He said, stripping his shirt over his head. “But you are right.” He said, unbuckling his belt. “They are an intelligence agency that I’m sure has plenty of other secrets.” 

“Like how we’re being monitored.” I said. 

Steve paused, his hands on the waistband of his briefs. “Monitored?” 

“Yeah. I didn’t notice them until the day you left. They followed me to the store and back. Both in suits, both wearing ear pieces. Neither of them would look at me as I turned and looked at them. At first I thought they could be secret service or something, but they followed me back here. They were sitting out on the street, last time I checked.” 

Steve moved to the window, standing to the side before pushing the curtain back slightly. “What did they drive?” 

“Black SUV. Not very inconspicuous if you ask me.” 

“Maybe they don’t want to be.” Steve pulled the curtain back in place, dropping the blinds. “You’re not going anywhere without me from now on.” 

“I think the neighbor is watching us too.” 

“Which one?” 

“The pretty blonde one. For all we know they could be listening to us now too. You said this was a SHIELD issued apartment.” I picked up his shield, spinning it so I was staring at the red, white and blue. It was a solid weight in my hands, a little heavy, but nothing I couldn’t handle. “Why are they watching  _ us _ , though? I’m sure they have bigger threats to worry about besides Captain America and...well, I am on their Index. And I have gotten stronger now that I have the Aether. Maybe they’re worried I’ll lose control or something.” 

Steve took the shield from my hands, placing it in its spot beside the bed before taking my hands. “You’re not going to lose control, and they’re not just watching you. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Something is going on inside SHIElD that is bigger than we know. And I hate to say it, but I don’t want to trust them anymore.” 

He pulled me up, walking to the bathroom. I grabbed a clean towel, making my way in as well. 

“I didn’t trust them to begin with.” I said, sitting down on the toilet lid while Steve stepped into the shower. “Why do you think I called Nat a year ago when I was running for my life in D.C? I could have called SHIELD, but I knew they’d want to know everything, and I wasn’t about to let an intelligence agency that knows too much already, know even more.” 

Steve stuck his head out of the shower door, water dripping down his face. “That’s why I didn’t let them test the Aether. I would have taken you out of there even if I had to fight my way out. They don’t need that kind of power in their hands.” 

I smiled at him, kissing him lightly before pushing his head back into the shower. “You’re getting water all over the floor.” 

Steve finished his shower as I made us lunch, my mind distracted about what Steve had said about SHIELD hiding things. I made Steve an extra sandwich, getting his bowl out of the cupboard for soup. One thing I had gotten used to was Steve’s massive appetite. The guy ate enough for an army in one meal. But that was okay. We rarely had leftovers between us. 

Steve and I ate in silence for a while, our nerves high. Steve tensed at every small sound, even some I couldn’t hear. He finally sighed, putting down the last half of his sandwiches. 

“Will you go to the Smithsonian with me tomorrow?” 

I paused in my chewing, taking a moment to process that he’d just spoken before quickly swallowing. “You want to go to the Smithsonian?” 

“Yeah. I need to see how accurate their Captain America exhibit is.” 

“And you expect us to get in unnoticed?” 

He shrugged. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” 

The next day I found myself on the back of his motorcycle as he drove us to the Smithsonian, Steve pulling on a baseball cap in the parking lot as I put on a beanie. They weren’t great disguises, but at least we weren’t as recognizable. I took his hand as we walked in, Steve beelining past everything else to the exhibit. We’d been in the Smithsonian so many times we could probably walk it blindfolded. 

“‘Welcome Back, Cap.’” I read as we stopped in front of the beginning of the exhibit. “You never told me you met the president.” I said, looking up at him. 

“Well, you weren’t on Earth at that time.” 

“Oh.” I said, staying silent as we walked into the exhibit, keeping our heads down. 

I looked at the picture of Steve back before he had the serum, turning to look at him now. 

“Wow.” I said, turning back to look up at him.  

“Yeah. Big improvement, huh?” 

I looked back to the picture, smiling a little. “I still would have dated you then.” 

“Even looking like that?” 

“Looks aren’t everything.” I said, lacing our fingers together again. 

We walked along, Steve pointing out various things as we went, weaving through the crowd. I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my face, watching the old footage of him. He stopped in front of one exhibit, the sadness coming off him in waves. 

“This was Bucky?” I asked, staring at the footage of Steve and the dark haired man who never left his side. 

“Yeah.” He said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. 

“You really loved him, didn’t you?” 

“He was like my brother. He was always there for me. And I let him down.” 

“Hey.” I said softly, moving so I was standing in front of him. “You didn’t let him down, Steve. You did everything you could.” 

He looked behind me for a moment before looking back to me, smiling down at me. “You still would have gone out with me before the serum?” 

I wrapped my arms around his neck, standing on my toes. “I would have gone out with the guy who wasn’t afraid to stand up for what was right, even if he knew he would get beat. The guy who wanted to fight for his country so bad he lied on his enlistment form. Five times. I would have gone out with the passionate, kind hearted, determined, hard headed man from Brooklyn, no matter what he looked like.” 

Steve smiled at me before leaning down, pressing a kiss to my lips. “I knew there was a reason I loved you so much.” 

Steve and I continued through the exhibit hand in hand, while I tried to shake the feeling that there was something very familiar about Bucky Barnes. 

  
  



	74. SHIELD Is Compromised

Steve was still up, even though it was pushing midnight. I rolled over to face him where he was sprawled out on his back, book in hand. 

“You okay?” I asked, wiping the almost sleep from my eyes. 

“Hmm?” His eyes moved from the book to me. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He gave me a small smile. “Don’t worry about me, doll.” 

I frowned a little. “It wasn’t too much, was it? Going back, seeing all of that. Seeing Bucky again?” 

He marked his place in the book, putting it on the nightstand before rolling over so he was facing me. “No. It felt good. I needed to do that, and I wanted to share it with you. So you could see what I was like before...all of this.”

I smiled a little at him, taking his hand in mine. He kissed my knuckles lightly before tugging my body closer to his, wrapping one of his arms around me before leaning over to turn the lamp off. He wrapped his other arm around me, burying his face in my hair. I slowly drifted off to sleep as Steve’s fingers traced gentle patterns on my arm.

_ I could see what was happening like I was a bystander on the street. There was a black SUV stopped next to a police car. The police car turned its lights on, sounding it siren for a second before driving off. The SUV started driving but was sideswiped by another police car, pushing it into the barrier between the sidewalk and the street. The police car that had driven out in front of the SUV backed up, hitting the front of the SUV as another car drove up behind it, sandwiching it in. Several more police cars and a van pulled up alongside the SUV, all of the policemen getting out, pointing their guns at the SUV. They all began firing at the SUV, the bullets making dents in the bulletproof material of the SUV. The police stopped firing, bringing out a battering ram instead, setting it up right beside the driver's window. The ram hit the car, sending it rocking back and forth. It hit it again twice, still not breaking through the glass.  _

_ Suddenly the glass shattered, a machine gun being fired from the SUV, taking out several of the policemen. The police van exploded, flipping one of the police cars. The SUV started driving away, and I saw the person sitting in the passenger seat. Director Fury.  _

I shot up, breathing hard. My head was pounding, my eyes feeling like they could pop out of my head at any moment. I winced, a small whine of pain leaving my lips as I rubbed my forehead, trying to get rid of the pain. 

I got up, stumbling to the bathroom. I closed the door before flipping on the lightswitch, my vision tinted red around the edges. I caught my reflection in the mirror, my breath catching. The whites of my eyes had turned black, my irises shining bright red. The skin around my eyes had darkened, deep red veins crawling under my skin before they disappeared around my cheek bones. I would have thought I was in some kind of nightmare, had it not been for the excruciating pain in my head.

I gasped in pain, falling to my knees as another wave washed over me, it was like someone was driving a sharp needle into my head over and over and over again. My body hunched over, my hands tearing at my hair trying to get the pain to stop. 

“Skye? Is everything okay in there?” I heard Steve knocking on the door. 

“Steve...” I whined, not able to move from the pain. 

“Skye?” I heard the door handle jiggle. Why had I locked it in the first place? “Skye, get back.” 

I kept my head down as he kicked in the door, shield in hand. He stood in the doorway for a second and I looked up at him, barely able to see him. 

“Steve...help...” I managed to squeak out through the pain. 

The shield clanged to the ground, Steve falling to his knees in front of me. His hands reached out hesitantly, but as soon as he got close to my skin he was pushed back by the Aether. He couldn’t do anything as he sat back on his knees, watching me as I suffered. The pain intensified for a moment and I screamed, pulling at my hair, the shower door shattering behind me before the pain disappeared. I fell forward, hands still tangled in my hair, on my elbows and knees. 

“Skye?” Steve asked, hesitantly reaching forward. He touched my arm, his skin hot against mine as he ran his fingers up to my hand, untangling it from my hair. He did the same with the other, cupping my cheeks so he could lift my face. “Skye, are you-” He was cut off by a knock on the door. “Don’t move.” He said, brushing my hair back before getting up, leaving the bathroom. 

I heard him walk to the front door as I curled up on the floor, not caring that there was glass cutting into my skin. 

“Is everything alright?” A female voice asked. It was the neighbor next door. 

“Yeah. Just a nightmare.” Steve reassured 

“You sure? It sounded pretty bad in there.” 

“Yeah. Just...lost control for a second. She’ll be fine.” 

“Okay. I just wanted to make sure before I called the cops.” 

“Yeah, we’re okay. I should get back...” 

“Oh, yeah. Of course.” 

Steve shut the door, his footsteps hurried as they returned to the bathroom. 

“Oh, Skye.” He breathed before picking me up, setting me down in the bathtub. 

He stripped me out of my tank top and shorts, turning the water on. I gasped, goosebumps erupting over my skin as the freezing water touched my feet. 

“Sorry.” He said. “It takes a second.” 

Steve gently and diligently picked the glass from my arm and my side, making sure none of the cuts were too deep before wrapping me in a towel, carrying me back out to the bed. He grabbed one of his shirts, slipping it over my head before kneeling in front of me, in between my legs. 

“You wanna tell me what that was?” He asked, staring at me with his “Captain America” face. 

“I don’t know.” My voice was hoarse, barely over a whisper. “I woke up from my dream and my head was pounding.” 

“What was your dream about?” 

“Fury. He’s going to be in trouble. But I don’t know when. Could be tomorrow, could be next week. There was nothing to tell me when, except it was daytime.” I didn’t tell him about the man in the mask, not wanting to worry him. 

He ran his fingers through my hair, pulling me forward so he could press a tender kiss to my forehead. “I’ll call him tomorrow before I run my errands. Let him know.” He stood, running his hand over the top of my head. “Now let’s get to bed. Get some sleep.” 

“I don’t know if I can sleep after that.” I said as he pulled me up the bed so I was tucked in his arms, being the little spoon. 

“Don’t worry. I’m here to protect you.” I knew he wouldn’t sleep again that night. The least I could do was try to, no matter how bad my dreams were. 

He was gone the next morning when I woke up. Or I guess I should say afternoon. It was nearly one, Steve’s side of the bed already made, the apartment silent. I hadn’t had another dream when I fell back asleep, something that worried me a little. My visions had been getting scarcer and scarcer, the ones I’d had recently the most I’d had in a month. It was almost like the Aether was hiding something from me. There was a knock on the door and I groaned, sliding out of bed. I pulled on a pair of leggings before heading to the door, the knocking never stopping. 

“I’m coming!” I said, unlocking the three locks on the door. 

“Skye Maria Stark, don’t you worry me like that.” 

“Dad?” I moved out of the way as he burst in the apartment. “What are you doing here?” 

“JARVIS alerted me last night that something was wrong and I called you one hundred times, but you didn’t answer, so I got here as fast as I could.” 

“Wait-JARVIS alerted you?” 

“Yeah, I programmed your phone so if anything happened to you that was altering you physically, JARVIS would tell me.” 

“And you didn’t tell me this why?” 

“Because I knew you’d shut your phone off, or you’d ‘lose’ it somewhere so I couldn’t find you.” 

I sighed, rubbing my forehead. “Not you too.”  

“Not me-what?” 

“SHIELD is already monitoring us, and now you are too.” 

“Technically JARVIS is, and I haven’t been following your every move. Just when JARVIS senses a distress signal. Like the one last night.” 

“I don’t even know what happened last night.” I said, sitting down on the couch. 

“Neither did I, until I had Banner analyze the data JARVIS sent.” He sat down next to me, pulling out his phone. “At first we thought the Aether was attacking your brain.” He said, showing me the data on his phone. “Your pain center was off the charts, and your neurons were going berzerk. But Banner found that it wasn’t the Aether that was attacking you, it was something else. The Aether was protecting you from something else trying to get into your head. Any idea what it could be?” I almost said it out loud, but then I realized that would not be a good idea, and then I’d have to explain to my irate father how my mom had been right after all, and I was keeping things from him. “Or how about who?” 

“Loki’s dead.” I said, shaking my head. “I haven’t seen or heard him since after New York anyways. At least in my head. And there’s no one else who could do it, that we know of.” 

My dad looked at me skeptically before nodding. “Something fishy is going on here.” 

“Tell me about it.” I groaned. “Steve thinks SHIELD is up to something.” 

“Where is Cap anyways?” My dad asked, looking around the apartment. 

“He went out to run some errands this morning. He’ll be back soon.” 

“He just left you alone after last night?” 

“Well, I was asleep, and I wasn’t about to keep him from living his life.” I shrugged. 

“You really do love him, don’t you?” 

“You have no idea.” I said, relaxing back on the couch. “I could spend forever with him and be happy.” 

“I know. I should have expected it too. I knew you’d grow up fast, but I wasn’t planning on it being this fast.” 

“Dad, we’re not getting married. We’re just...two people in love.” I shrugged. 

“Would you, though? Marry him?” 

“If the time came and he popped the question...there’s no doubt I would say yes. He takes good care of me, daddy.” 

“I know.” My dad said, taking my hand. “He does a better job than I ever did.” 

“Don’t say that. It’s just...different circumstances, is all. You’re still my dad. You’ll always be my dad.” 

He pulled me into a hug, kissing the top of my head. “Be careful, okay? Call me if anything happens, or you need a quick exit. I can go supersonic. Get to D.C. in a matter of minutes.” 

“I know. And I will.” 

“Alright. I should go. Get back to New York before Pepper leaves for California.” My dad said standing up. 

“You’re not going with her?” I asked, standing up as well. 

“Not this time. Banner and I are working on some stuff. I promised I’d help him.” 

“Okay. Take care of yourself, dad.” 

“You too. And I mean it. Call me.” He said, walking towards the stairwell. 

“I will.” I said, rolling my eyes jokingly at him. 

I locked the door, staring at the empty apartment. It was far too quiet, so I turned on the TV, putting it on a show I could listen to in the background. I decided to clean, spending the entire afternoon, with a break for lunch of course, cleaning. I moved everything, making sure the apartment sparkled. I was in the kitchen, trying to decide what to make for dinner when I heard a window slide open. I shut the fridge, a heavy thump accompanied by footsteps nearing the kitchen. I grabbed the gun Steve had attached under the kitchen cabinet, spinning around, pointing the gun directly at Director Fury. 

“What are you doing here?” I said, not lowering the gun. 

“My wife kicked me out.” He said, acting natural.

“I didn’t know you were married.” I said, eyeing the blood on his face. 

“I didn’t know Rogers was either.” I went to say something, but he interrupted me. “You’re not going to use that.” He nodded at the gun.

“Not unless you don’t tell my why you’re really here.” 

He smiled, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone. He typed something in before holding the screen so I could see. I took a hesitant step forward, my grip on the gun wavering at the words. 

‘SHIELD is compromised.’ 

I looked back up to him, lowering the gun a little. He typed something else, holding it out to me again. 

‘Act natural.’ 

I nodded, the gun lowering completely. “I know what happened. Or at least part of it.” I said, looking back up to him. 

“Then you know who to trust.” He said. 

“I don’t think I should trust anyone right now.” 

“Good.” 

He turned around, walking towards the living room. 

“It’s Been a Long, Long Time.” I said, making him turn around again. “Henry James and Kitty Kallen. On the shelf. He’ll know something’s up.” 

Director Fury nodded to me before turning back around. Soon enough the song began playing, filling the apartment with music. I grabbed my rag, heading to the part of the apartment I hadn’t cleaned yet, moving stuff around on the builtins. 

I was so distracted I didn’t even notice the window opening until a warm hand covered my mouth, my body falling back against a warm solid one. I would have retaliated, had Steve’s scent not filled my nose. I tilted my head up so I could see his face, Steve putting a finger to his mouth to motion for me to be quiet. I nodded and he released me, moving soundlessly to where I’d moved his shield while I was cleaning. I followed behind him as he moved down the hall towards the living room, peeking around the corner. He relaxed just slightly, spotting Director Fury. 

“I don’t remember giving you a key.” He said. 

“You really think I’d need one?” I heard Director Fury shift slightly. “My wife kicked me out.” 

“I didn’t know you were married.” 

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me.” 

Steve moved from behind the wall, stepping closer to Director Fury. I stayed slightly hidden, leaning against the wall. 

“I know, Nick. That’s the problem.” Steve said, flipping on the light switch. 

Director Fury turned the lamp off again, turning his phone to show Steve what I assumed was the same thing he’d shown me. 

“I’m sorry I have to do this, but I had no place else to crash.” 

“Who else knows about your wife?” 

Director Fury stood, holding his phone out again. “Just...my friends.” 

“Is that what we are?” 

“That’s up to you.” 

Suddenly a gunshot rang out, both Steve and I ducking. Two more shots rang out and I heard Director Fury hit the floor. I moved as Steve grabbed his arm, pulling him around the corner where I was standing. Director Fury handed something to Steve before he could turn around. I didn’t see what it was, but that wasn’t the most important thing at that moment. 

“Don’t trust anyone.” He said. 

The door burst open and I heard a familiar female voice. “Captain Rogers?” Steve flattened himself against the wall, looking around the corner. “Captain..I’m Agent 13 of SHIELD Special Service.” 

“Kate?” 

I knew it. I knew we were being watched. The blonde came into the apartment, walking around the corner to where I was trying to keep pressure on Director Fury’s wounds. 

“I’m assigned to protect you.” 

“On whose order?” Steve asked. 

“His.” 

Kate, or Agent 13 now, moved to the opposite side of Fury, checking for a pulse. She pulled a radio out of her scrub pocket. “Foxtrot is down, he’s unresponsive. I need EMT’s.” 

_ ‘Do we have a 20 on the shooter?’  _ A voice came over the radio. 

“Tell him I’m in pursuit.” Steve said. “Skye, stay here.” Steve said before taking a running jump through the window and to the building next door. He didn’t have to tell me twice. I wasn’t going anywhere.


	75. Escaping SHIELD

Steve and I stood, watching the doctors perform surgery on Fury. The door flew open, Natasha rushing in. Neither Steve nor I had said anything to each other since we arrived at the hospital. We’d kept our distance, neither of us wanting to process everything that had happened. 

“Is he gonna make it?” Natasha asked, breaking our silence. 

“I don’t know.” Steve said. 

“Tell me about the shooter.” 

“He’s fast. Strong. Had a metal arm.” I gasped a little bit at that, turning my head to look at the pair, but Agent Hill entering the room stopped me from saying anything. 

“Ballistics?” Natasha asked. 

“Three slugs, no rifling. Completely untraceable. Soviet-made.” 

“He’s in V-tach.” One of the nurses said and we watched as they tried to revive Fury. 

Steve turned away when they stopped, calling his time of death. I followed Steve out of the door, moving over to one of the seats in the hallway. I put my head in my hands, trying to process everything that had happened. 

“Hey.” Steve said, squatting in front of me. He cupped my cheeks, lifting my face so I could see him. “You okay?” 

“It doesn’t make sense, Steve.” I said quietly. The hallway was flooded with SHIELD agents. “Why? Why is this happening now?” 

Steve looked around us before pulling me into a hug. “I’ll explain everything later.” He whispered into my ear. 

I nodded, pulling away from him as Natasha came out of the door, followed by Agent Hill. Neither of them looked at us as they walked down the hall, Steve holding out his hand to me, helping me to my feet. We followed Natasha to the room where Fury’s body was, both Steve and I staying back by the door, giving Nat her space. 

The door opened, Agent Hill coming in. She moved to stand beside Steve, closest to the door. 

“I need to take him.” She said. 

Steve nodded before moving forward to stand behind Nat. “Natasha.” He said quietly. 

She put her hand on his forehead for a moment before turning, brushing past Steve, and out the door. Steve followed, and I followed behind him. 

“Natasha!” Steve said, stopping the redhead in the middle of the hallway. 

“Why was Fury in your apartment?” 

Steve sighed. “I don’t know.” 

“Cap.” An unknown voice behind me said, making me spin around. “They want you back at SHIELD.” I took a couple steps closer to Steve as he approached, not liking him at all. 

“Yeah, give me a second.” 

“They want you now.” 

“Okay.” Steve said and the guy finally turned back around, walking away. 

“You’re a terrible liar.” Nat said when Steve turned back to her. 

She turned and walked away, disappearing in the crowd in the hallway. He turned back to look at me, his brow furrowing.

“Skye...your eyes.” 

“What?” I pulled my phone out, flipping it to camera. “Oh god.” The whites of my eyes had turned black again. 

“Keep your head down.” He said and I pulled my sweatshirt hood over my head. “Close your eyes.” He said for a second, and I obliged, hearing a couple thumps and a rattle before Steve’s arm was around my shoulders. “Don’t look at anyone.” He said as he started walking, guiding me along. 

“Let’s go.” Steve said, walking past the creepy guy I didn’t like. 

“S.T.R.I.K.E. move it out.” He said, several other men dressed in black following us. 

I kept my gaze down, closing my eyes in the cramped elevator. Steve’s arm was tight around me as we went out to the Audi, Steve taking the keys from my hand. I didn’t argue, getting in the passenger side as he drove towards SHIELD headquarters, two SUV’s ahead of us and one behind. I pulled my sunglasses out of the glove box, putting them on, even though the sun was just barely in the sky. We’d been at the hospital for hours, even though it only felt like a few minutes. 

I kept my hand on Steve’s arm as he drove, anchoring myself. I was scared I was going to have another episode like last night. 

“You okay?” He asked, keeping his eyes on the road. 

“Yeah. Everything’s just red right now.” 

“You’re not gonna have another episode are you?” 

“No. I don’t think so. Steve, I didn’t tell you this because I haven’t had time, but my dad came to visit for a few minutes yesterday.” 

I saw his grip tighten on the steering wheel. 

“What did he have to say?” 

“He programmed JARVIS in my phone to alert him of any kind of distress signals, anything that could be altering me physically. He got the call last night, called me one hundred and two times which I didn’t hear, then showed up at the door after you had already left. He said he had Dr. Banner look at the data JARVIS sent on my brain, and the Aether was keeping something, or someone, from getting inside my head.” 

“Who would want inside your head?” 

I bit my lip. Telling him now would have been a lot to take in, if he would even believe me. Then there was always the risk of him telling my dad. I was already keeping things from him, what was one more thing? “That’s the big question.” 

The rest of the drive was silent, Steve tense as he drove. I stared in awe at SHIELD’s headquarters, never having seen anything like it. 

“Stay in the car.” Steve said, turning off the engine. “If anything happens, I want you to get in the driver's seat and drive back to the hospital. There’s a USB in the vending machine on the third floor behind the bubblegum, get it and take it to New York.” 

“Why are you talking like this could be the last time I see you?” I asked.

Steve leaned over the console, pressing his lips against mine in a passionate kiss. 

“Because it could be.” 

I watched Steve walk away from the car, flanked by the men in black. I had an uneasy feeling about all of this, but I wasn’t about to go running in there and pull Steve back, making him run away to New York with me until this all cooled over. So I leaned the seat back, closing my eyes. I wasn’t sure how long this would take, so I might as well get some much needed rest. 

_ Steve was fighting the masked man in the street. I could barely focus, but they were all over the place. He was putting up a hell of a fight, and so was Steve. They paid no mind to me where I laid on the asphalt. My body hurt, and I could see small strands of the Aether floating around me, on guard in case the fight turned my way. I could barely move, my muscles screaming in protest with every try. All I could do was watch as Steve flipped the masked man over his shoulder, the man hitting the ground, his mask coming off. He rolled back to his feet, turning around- _

I jolted awake when I heard footsteps approaching the Audi. I looked out, seeing men dressed in black fatigues approaching the car. 

“Skye Stark get out of the car with your hands up.” I debated my options, apparently taking too long. “Get out of the car or we’ll shoot!” 

I held my hand up in the window, opening the door with the other. “Okay! I’m getting out! Just please, don’t shoot my car.” 

“Keep your hands where we can see them. No tricks.” 

One of the men approached me and I could feel the Aether building inside me. He was inches from me when I released it, sending all of the men flying back around the garage. 

“Skye get in the car!” Steve yelled, running towards me. 

I did as he said, sliding back into the passenger seat as he got in the driver's seat, speeding away from the garage. 

“What’s going on?” I asked, holding on for dear life as he drove. 

“Fury was right. S.T.R.I.K.E. Team tried to attack me in the elevator.” 

“Great.” I said as he sped off, barely making it through the bridge before it closed. 

A quinjet flew overhead, several gnarly looking spikes sticking out of the road in front of us. The quinjet circled around, hovering over the road in front of us. 

_ “Stand down, Captain Rogers. Stand down.”  _ A machine gun appeared out of the quinjet. 

“Oh hell no. Not at my car.” I said, leaning forward to press a button on the dash. “JARVIS, prepare battle mode.” 

_ “Right away, Miss Stark.”  _

“What in the-” 

“My dad likes to build things.” I said, shrugging. “It’s only a prototype, so I don’t know if it will even work. Take your hands off the wheel.” 

“What?” Steve looked at me like I was crazy.” 

“Just do it!” Steve took his hands off the wheel. “Autopilot mode.” 

_ “Autopilot activated.”  _

“Get us out of here, J.” I said. 

The car began swerving, dodging bullets as the quinjet shot at us. 

“What do you want me to do now?” Steve asked, looking over to me. 

“Hold on.” I said, already feeling the Aether building inside me. 

I watched as the Aether created a protective bubble around the car before strands of it shot forward, taking out one of the quinjet’s engines. The quinjet began circling out of control, heading straight for us. 

“Engage flight mode.” I said and I felt the car lift off the ground, sailing up and over the quinjet as it crashed to the bridge, landing safely on the other side of the spikes. I relaxed, the protective bubble around us dissipating as we landed. “Disengage autopilot.” 

_ “Autopilot disengaged.”  _

The car slowed to a stop, both Steve and I taking a moment to breathe. 

“Flying car?” He asked, looking over to me as he started driving again. “You know Howard built one back in the 1940’s.” 

“It was built off the same principle. Though improved and it can do a lot more than fly.” I leaned forward, pressing the button again, the holograms on the windshield disappearing. “Now, you wanna tell me what’s really going on?” 


	76. Fugitives

“So SHIELD is building helicarriers that can preemptively take out a target from anywhere in the world without being seen?” 

“Yeah. Your dad was in on it too. He gave them repulsor technology to use.” 

“What the hell?” I breathed, rubbing my eyes. “And so that USB has information on it that’s the last piece of the puzzle?” 

“Yeah. Which is why we’re going to get it, and we’re going to try and figure out what’s on it.” 

“That’s why you told me to grab it and take it to New York if anything happened to you.” 

“Yeah.” I put my hand on his over the gearshift. “You know you can leave. Take the car, head to New York. Get somewhere safer.” 

“No. You need my help.” 

“Skye-” 

“I have an Infinity Stone inside me. I may be a little unstable, but I just took out a quinjet. You can’t send me away now.” There’s more to this than you know. I didn’t say that out loud. He had enough to worry about. 

Steve changed his shoes, pulling on his hoodie over his suit as I pulled on my beanie and sunglasses. I took his arm, letting him lead us up to the vending machine. We stopped in front of it, my stomach falling as the bubblegum and the USB were both gone. I looked up at Steve, his face turning into a hard mask, as another person appeared in the reflection. He turned around, looking at Natasha before grabbing her, shoving her back into a (thankfully) empty room. I followed them, shutting the door behind me. 

“Where is it?” 

“Safe.” 

“Do better.” 

“Where did you get it?” 

“Why would I tell you?”

“Fury gave it to you. Why?” 

“What’s on it?” 

“I don’t know.” 

“Stop lying.” 

“I only act like I know everything, Rogers.” 

I looked out through the blinds, hearing voices near the door. 

“I bet you knew Fury hired the pirates, didn’t you?” 

“Well it makes sense. The ship was dirty, Fury needed a way in, so do you.” 

“I’m not gonna ask you again.” 

“I know who killed Fury.” It was silent between them for a moment and I looked back at them. “Most of the intelligence community doesn’t believe he exists. The ones that do call him the Winter Soldier. He’s credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last 50 years.” 

“So he’s a ghost story.” 

“Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran. Somebody shot out my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff. I pulled us out. But the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer so he shot him straight through me. Soviet slug. No rifling. Bye-bye bikinis.” 

“Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now.”

I felt something rise in me at that comment. Was it jealousy? No. It couldn’t have been. 

“Going after him is a dead end. I know, I’ve tried. Like you said, he’s a ghost story.” 

“Well, let’s find out what the ghost wants.” 

We left the hospital, going down to the garage. 

“We’ll take my car since they know what yours looks like.” Nat said. 

“Hold on.” I said, unlocking my car. I got in, pressing the button. “Sentry Mode, JARVIS. No one touches this car until I get back.” 

_ “Sentry Mode activated.”  _

I popped the hood, grabbing my wallet and sweatshirt out of the trunk. 

“Okay. We can go now.” Steve gave me a look. “What? That car cost half a million dollars.” 

Steve just gave me another look as we squished into Nat’s car. I sat on Steve’s lap as Natasha drove, Steve’s arms tight around me. She pulled into the mall parking lot, the three of us getting out. We walked into Macy’s, getting ourselves new clothes. I tucked my hair into my beanie, making sure it covered part of my face. I had to hold back a laugh at how uncomfortable Steve looked in shoes that weren’t running shoes. 

“You look good with glasses.” I said as we walked out of Macy’s. “Maybe you should keep those.” 

“You’re a dork.” He said as we speed walked through the mall, trying to act normal, and not like fugitives. 

“First rule of going on the run is don’t run, walk.” Nat said. 

“If I run in these shoes, they’re gonna fall off.” Steve said as we walked towards the Apple Store. 

Nat got on to one of the computers as soon as we got there. I stood in between her and Steve, Steve’s grip on my hand tight as he scanned the area, looking for anyone who might have been with SHIELD. 

“The drive has a Level Six homing program, so as soon as we boot up SHIELD will know exactly where we are.” 

“How much time will we have?” Steve asked. 

“About nine minutes from...” She plugged in the USB. “Now.” It was silent as Steve watched the entrance to the store carefully and Nat worked. “Fury was right about that ship. Somebody’s trying to hide something. The drive is protected by some sort of AI. It keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands.” 

“Can you override it?” 

“The person who developed this is slightly smarter than me.” She said. “Slightly.” 

“Let me try. I used to hack JARVIS all the time.” 

Natasha moved aside and I took over, working on trying to break down the AI’s system. It was taking longer than I wanted, my heartbeat starting to pick up, the sounds and smells around me getting stronger. 

“Wait, let me try something.” Nat said, and I moved aside again. “I’m going to try running a tracer. This is a program that SHIELD developed to track hostile malware. So if we can’t read the file, maybe we can find out where it came from.” 

“Can I help you guys with anything?” I nearly jumped out of my skin at the voice, Steve wrapping a calming arm around my shoulders. 

“Oh, no. I’m just helping my friend and her fiance look at some honeymoon destinations.” Nat said, lying like a pro. 

“Right. We’re getting married.” Steve said, squeezing my shoulder gently before placing himself between the employee and Nat and I. 

“Congratulations.” The employee said. “Where are you guys thinking about going?” He asked, looking closer at the screen. 

Steve and I both looked down at the screen as a location popped up on the map. “New Jersey.” 

“Oh.” A look of realization crossed the employee’s face and I thought our cover was blown for sure. “I have the exact same glasses.” 

“Wow. You two are practically twins.” Nat said. 

“Yeah, I wish.” The employee laughed, holding his hands out towards Steve. “Specimen. If you guys need anything, I’ve been Aaron.” 

“Thank you.” Steve said. 

“You said nine minutes.” Steve said turning around, looking at his watch. “Come on.” 

“Relax.” Nat said. “Got it.” 

“Wheaton, New Jersey?” I asked. 

Steve leaned closer to the screen. 

“You know it?” Nat asked. 

“I used to. Let’s go.” 

Steve pulled the USB out and we left the Apple Store, but not before noticing the suspicious men in black. 

“Standard tac team.” Steve said. “Two behind. Two across. And two coming straight at us. If they make us, I’ll engage, you two hit the south escalator to the metro.” 

“Shut up and put your arm around me. Laugh at something I said.” Nat said. 

“What?” 

“Do it.” 

Steve awkwardly put his arm around Nat, the three of us laughing as we passed the men. Steve immediately removed his arm as we got on to an escalator. I was to the side of Steve, Nat in front of him. I kept my eyes flicking back and forth from my right to in front of me. I happened to look to my right as Nat and Steve were kissing. I quickly looked back ahead of me, trying to ignore the feeling welling inside me. That was definitely jealousy, and a little bit of hurt. 


	77. Uncovering the Past

Steve wound up hot wiring a truck in the mall parking lot, getting us out of there quickly. We stuck to the back roads as he drove us to New Jersey. He and Nat sat in the front and I sat in the back, curled up in the seat. 

“Where did Captain America learn how to steal a car?” 

“Nazi Germany. And we’re borrowing. Take your feet off the dash.” 

Natasha removed her feet from the dash. “Awfully quiet back there.” She said, tilting her head to look at me. 

“Just thinking.” I said, not looking away from the window. 

Nat didn’t say anything else to me, but I could feel Steve’s eyes on me through the rearview mirror. I didn’t look at him either, needing some time to think. I didn’t know why I was upset. It wasn’t like it meant anything, we needed to get out of there without being spotted, and that got us out. But I still couldn’t shake the feeling. 

Steve pulled up to a gated off run down military base. I opened up the truck door, ignoring Steve’s hand as he offered to help me out. He grabbed my arm, stopping me from walking past him. 

“Are you okay?” He asked me quietly. 

“Yes. I’m fine.” I said, staring at him hard. 

I knew he didn’t believe me, but we had more pressing matters on hand. He let me go, turning around to face the gate, shield in hand. 

“This is it.” He said, walking closer to the gate. 

“The file came from these coordinates.” 

“So did I.” Steve said, looking at the sign on the fence. 

Steve broke the lock on the gate, the three of us slipping inside. Nat scanned the buildings for any sign of what we were looking for. We must have been past every building in the camp by now, the sun already setting. 

“This camp is where I was trained.” Steve said. 

“Change much?” 

“A little.” Steve said, looking up at a flag pole. 

“This is a dead end.” Nat said. Zero heat signatures, zero waves, not even radio. Whoever wrote that file must have used a router to throw people off.” Steve turned to face her, but something in the distance caught his eye. “What is it?” 

He took off towards a bunker in the distance, Nat and I almost having to run to keep up to him. 

“Army regulations forbid storing munitions within 500 yards of the barracks. This building is in the wrong place.” Steve broke the lock with his shield, opening the door slowly. 

We went down the steps slowly, Steve leading the way. Nat flipped a switch, surprisingly the lights in the bunker turning on. There were empty desks scattered in the room, an insignia with an eagle on the far wall. 

“This is SHIELD.” Nat said. “Maybe where it started.”    
We walked through the bunker, Steve opening a door into what looked like a storage room. He stopped when he saw pictures lining the wall. 

“There’s Stark’s father.” Nat said, nodding to the picture in the middle. 

“Howard.” Steve said. 

Huh. I never knew my grandfather was one of the founding members of SHIELD. I had some questions for my dad when I saw him again. 

“Who’s the girl?” Nat asked. 

I recognized her as Peggy. Steve didn’t say anything, just walked away. He walked along the empty shelves until he saw something, looking at the shelves around the one he was standing in. 

“If you’re already working in a secret office...” He grabbed the edge of the shelf, pulling it to reveal another set of doors. “Why do you need to hide the elevator?” 

Nat took out her phone, shining a UV light on the keypad. Pulling up the code to unlock it. She punched it in, the elevator door dinging as it opened. We got in, Steve pushing the only button available, taking us down deep into the ground. 

The floor it stopped on was dark, the faint outline of machines visible from the light coming out of the elevator. Steve looked to Nat and I before walking out, both of us following him. The elevator doors shut, leaving us in the dim light as we approached what looked like a control panel. The lights turned on, blinding me for a second, revealing a very old computer in the middle of the room. We stepped up on to the platform, looking around at the antique technology. 

“This can’t be the data point. This technology is ancient.” Nat said. 

She stepped forward, looking down at something, pulling the USB out of her pocket. Someone had hooked up a portable USB hub. She plugged in the USB, everything in the room starting up. 

“Uh, guys.” I said, watching as the camera on top of the computer moved. 

Both of them turned to face it. 

_ ‘Initiate system?’  _ An electronic voice asked. 

Steve and I looked to Nat and she stepped forward, typing on the keyboard. “Y-E-S spells yes.” The computer hummed as it started up. “Shall we play a game?” Nat asked. “It’s from a movie that was really-” 

“I know. I saw it.” Steve said. 

Nat turned to look at me and I just smiled sheepishly. 

We all turned back to the computer as it started beeping, what looked like the Matrix forming on the screen, but it was really a face. 

_ “Rogers, Steven, born 1918.”  _ The camera turned to Nat.  _ “Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna, born 1984.”  _ The camera turned to me.  _ “Stark, Skye, born 1992.”  _

“It’s some kind of recording.” Nat said, looking at the camera. 

_ “I am not a recording, Fr _ _ ä _ _ ulein. I may not be the man I was when the Captain took me prisoner in 1945. But I am.”  _

Another screen lit up with a black and white picture of a man with glasses. 

“You know this thing?” Nat asked Steve. 

“Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull.” Steve said, walking off the platform to the back of the computer. “He’s been dead for years.” 

_ “First correction, I am Swiss. Second, look around you. I have never been more alive. In 1972 I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body. My mind, however, that was worth saving, on 200,000 feet of databanks. You are standing in my brain.”  _

Steve walked back up on to the platform, keeping me slightly behind him and Nat. “How did you get here?” He asked. 

_ “Invited.”  _

“It was Operation Paperclip after World War II.” Nat said. “SHIELD recruited German scientists with strategic value.” 

_ “They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own.”  _

“HYDRA died with the Red Skull.” Steve said. 

“ _ Cut off one head, and two more shall take its place.” _

“Prove it.” Steve said. 

_ “Accessing archive.”  _ The computer said as several of the smaller screens flashed. 

_ “HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize was that if you try to take that freedom, they resist. The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly. After the war, SHIELD was founded, and I was recruited. The new HYDRA grew. A beautiful parasite inside SHIELD. For 70 years HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war, and when history did not cooperate, history was changed.”  _

“That’s impossible.” Nat said, stepping closer to the screen where the video was playing. “SHIELD would have stopped you.” 

_ “Accidents will happen.”  _

I inhaled sharply, taking a step back when the picture of the newspaper that announced my grandparents deaths showed up on the screen. HYDRA had been behind that? 

_ “HYDRA created a world so chaotic, that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security.”  _ Images of the helicarriers Steve was telling me about came on screen. _ “Once a purification process is complete, HYDRA’s new world order will arise. We won, Captain. Your death amounts to the same as your life. A zero sum.”  _

Steve lashed out, punching the computer. It beeped, Zola’s face appearing on another screen. 

_ “As I was saying...”  _

“What’s on this drive?” Steve asked. 

_ “Project Insight requires insight. So I wrote an algorithm”  _

“What kind of algorithm? What does it do?” Nat asked. 

_ “The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it.”  _

The doors to get to the elevator closed, Steve throwing his shield, but it bounced off the walls, coming back to him. Nat’s cell phone beeped, making her pull it out. 

“Steve, we got a bogey.” She said. “Short range ballistic. 30 seconds tops.” 

“Who fired it?” 

“SHIELD.” 

_ “I am afraid I have been stalling, Captain. Admit it. It’s better this way.”  _ Nat grabbed the USB as Steve ran down the platform, pulling a grate up out of the ground. Nat and I ran, just barely making it down before the bunker exploded, debris raining down on us. I felt the Aether create a bubble, but my sight quickly went black. 

  
  
  



	78. Things Get Better

****

_ “Will he ever be normal?” I asked the doctor as I sat in his office, watching as a little sandy haired boy sat, playing on the floor.  _ _   
_ _ “It’s hard to say, Mrs. Rogers. Between your...condition, and your husband’s enhancements, it’s a miracle he’s made it out as normal as he is now. But as he grows...it’s difficult to say. Once he starts growing more, we can run some tests, try and figure out what’s going on. The scoliosis we fix later, when he gets a bit older. The arrhythmia was treated when he was a baby. And there’s not much we can do for the asthma. But for now we can get him fitted for braces to help him walk.”  _

_ The doctor stood up from his stool, bending down to the boy. “So, James, would you like to sit up on the bed?”  _

_ The boy looked up at the doctor and nodded. The doctor picked him up, setting him down on the bed. He was such a tiny little thing.  _

_ “Mommy!” He said, reaching his hand out to me. _

_ I smiled, standing up to move to his side. “I’m right here, baby.”  _

_ I held his hand as the doctor took his measurements, making small talk with the doctor.  _

_ “Alright. We’ll get these all made up, and they should be ready in about a week.”  _

_ “Thank you doctor.” I said, helping James down into his wheelchair.  _

_ “I’ll see you in a week, okay buddy?”  _

_ James nodded again, taking the sticker the doctor handed him. I wheeled him out of the office and down the hall, ignoring the pity-filled gazes of the parents in the waiting room. My son was beautiful no matter what. And I loved him regardless.  _

My eyes cracked open, my head leaning against the window of a car. I could see the outline of a city getting closer as we drove, the sky just starting to turn pink. I groaned, stretching a little. I was covered in dirt, but so were Nat and Steve. 

“Hey, she’s alive.” Nat said, turning her head to look at me. “You had us worried there for a second.” 

“What happened?” I asked, my voice groggy from not being used. 

“What do you remember?” Steve asked, looking at me briefly through the rearview mirror. 

“The bunker blew up, and we dove down into a hole, and then it’s all dark.” 

“The Aether created a shield around us, but we still had to dig ourselves out. SHIELD came looking for us so we had to run. I hotwired this car, and now we’re almost back in D.C.” 

“You’ve been out for almost three hours.” 

“It felt like five minutes.” I said, slumping in the seat. “Where are we going to go?” I asked as Steve got off on an exit. 

“A friend’s place.” 

“I thought all of our friends wanted to kill us?” I asked. 

“This one’s not with SHIELD.” 

Steve parked down the street, helping me out as we limped through the back gate of an apartment building, climbing the steps up to the back door of an apartment. Steve knocked on the back of the building, the blinds still drawn. I leaned against him as a man I didn’t recognize drew the blinds up, opening the sliding door. 

“Hey, man.” He said, greeting Steve. 

“I’m sorry about this. We need a place to lay low.” Steve said. 

“Everyone we know is trying to kill us.” Nat said. 

He looked from Nat to Steve to me then back. “Not everyone.” He said, moving out of the doorway, letting us in. 

He showed us to the guest room, leaving us to clean ourselves up. Nat and Steve let me go first, saying something about needing to have a conversation. I tried to suppress the jealousy rising in me, shutting myself in the bathroom so I could breathe. I stripped out of my shirt, leaving me in my tank top, using the sink to wash the dirt off my face. I untangled my hair, washing the dirt out of it as well. 

I opened the door when I was finished, letting Nat in. I moved so I was sitting on the bed next to Steve. 

“So, are we going to talk about this?” 

“Talk about what?” I asked, using a towel to dry my hair. 

“About how you’ve been acting weird.” 

I just sighed, looking away from him. “I think we have bigger things to worry about than just what’s going on between us.” 

“We have five minutes right now to talk. Let’s settle it while we can. Is this about what happened in the mall?” 

I didn’t answer, looking down at the floor. 

“You know that kiss didn’t mean anything.” He said, tucking some of my wet hair behind my ear. 

“I know.” I said quietly. 

“And you know I love you. More than anything.” 

I sighed. “I know, but I just can’t handle how she flirts with you. And you just do it right back like it’s no big deal.” 

“We’re just friends. She does the same thing with Barton.” 

“Things are happening Steve. And things are going to happen that I frankly don’t understand. My visions are getting weirder and scarcer-” 

“Like what? Did you know SHIELD was stuffed full of HYDRA sleepers? Did you know Fury was going to die?” He was giving me his ‘Captain America’ face. 

“Steve, I had a vision about the Winter Soldier. A couple now, actually.” 

“Did you know he was going to kill Fury?” He asked me. 

“No. When I saw him it was different.” 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” 

“Because my visions have been so sporadic, and most of them are so far into the future it’s not even worth worrying about them now. I didn’t want to worry you even more over something that could happen months from now.” 

I watched his face as his jaw tightened, his muscles tense, but I knew from his eyes he knew I was right. He sighed, his muscles relaxing. 

“But we’re going to meet him eventually?” 

“Yes.” 

“Do you know who he is?” 

“No.” I said, shaking my head. “He always wears a mask when I see him.” 

Steve sighed, pulling me into his arms. He was still dirty, but I didn’t care. “When this is all over, then we’ll talk more about this. We’ll head somewhere quiet. Take some time off. Work things out.” He pressed a tender kiss to my forehead before the bathroom door opened. 

“I’m gonna go talk to Sam.” I said, grabbing my shirt before giving him a quick kiss, leaving the bedroom. 

Sam was in the kitchen, working on breakfast when I got there. 

“Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked, leaning against the counter. 

“Nah, I got it.” Sam said. It was silent between us for a second before Sam turned to me. “So you’re Cap’s girl, huh?” 

“You, uh, read the tabloids?” I said, blushing a little. 

“I saw them in passing.” He said, a smile on his face. “That, and he calls you that a lot.” 

My blush darkened. “He talks about me?” 

Sam smiled. “Yeah. I’ve only spoken to him a couple times. We met on a run a couple days ago. He lapped me eight times before I just gave up. I was in the Air Force. 58th Pararescue.” 

“58th? EXO-7 Falcon jet pack was made for the 58th.” 

“You know about EXO-7 Falcon?” 

“Yeah. I remember when my dad was going over the blueprints for it. Only two were actually used though.” 

“Yeah. I was one of the test pilots.” 

“Really? That’s so cool.”    
“Yeah, it was.” He had a sad smile on his face, so I didn’t say anything else. He grabbed some plates from the cabinet, setting them on the counter. “Help yourself. I’ll go let the other two know breakfast is ready.” 

“Thank you, Sam.” I said, giving him a smile. 

“It’s no problem. Really.” 

I helped myself to some food, sitting down at the table, waiting for Steve and Nat to come out. Steve and Nat grabbed themselves some food before Steve sat down next to me, Nat sitting across from us. It was silent as we ate, the tension between us high. I knew Nat had prompted Steve to talk to me, probably having to tell him what was wrong in the first place. 

“It doesn’t make sense why SHIELD would launch a missile and destroy something they needed.” Steve said after we’d finished breakfast. 

“Maybe they were just trying to off us.” 

“It still doesn’t make sense. Why would they use a missile instead of just sending in a STRIKE team?” Steve said. 

“They did send in a STRIKE team to check if we were dead. So the question is: who at SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?” Nat said. 

“Pierce.” Steve said.

“Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world.” 

“But he’s not working alone. Zola’s algorithm was on the Lemurian Star. So was Jasper Sitwell.” 

“So the real question is, how do the three most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?” 

“The answer is, you don’t.” Sam said, moving from in the kitchen, setting a file down on the table in front of Steve. 

“What’s this?” Steve asked. 

“Call it a resume.” 

Steve stood up as Nat grabbed the picture on top of the file. “Is this Bakhmala?” She asked. “The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you? You didn’t say he was a Pararescue.” 

“Is this Riley?” Steve asked, taking the picture. 

“Yeah.” 

“I heard they couldn’t bring down the choppers because of the RPGs. What did you use? A stealth chute?” 

“No.” He said, picking up the file. “These.” 

Steve took the file, opening it up. “I thought you said you were a pilot.” 

“I never said I was a pilot.” 

Steve looked back down at the file. “I can’t ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason.” 

“Dude, Captain America needs my help. There’s no better reason to get back in.” Steve nodded, closing the file. “Where can we get our hands on one of these things?” 

“The last one’s at Fort Meade. Behind three guarded gates and a 12-inch steel wall.” 

Steve looked to Nat who shrugged. “Shouldn’t be a problem.” 


	79. Then They Get Worse

All I can say is the look on Jasper Sitwell's face when he saw Steve and Nat was priceless. I kind of wished I’d gotten a picture of it, but I was too busy following Steve and Nat up to the rooftop of a building, Steve dragging Sitwell along with us. Steve threw him through the roof door, sending him rolling across the roof. 

“Tell me about Zola’s algorithm.” Steve said, still walking towards Sitwell, backing him up towards the edge of the rooftop. 

“Never heard of it.” 

“What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?” 

“I was throwing up. Getting seasick.” Sitwell hit the edge of the rooftop, Steve grabbing him to keep him from falling. 

“Is this little display meant to insinuate that you’re going to throw me off the roof? Because it’s really not your style, Rogers.” 

“You’re right.” Steve said, letting him go. “It’s not. It’s hers.” Steve moved aside so Natasha could kick Sitwell over the side of the building. 

“You know, it’s probably be bad for me to say, I wouldn’t mind if Sam just let him keep falling.” I said. 

Both Steve and Nat looked at me. “I knew there was a reason I liked you.” Nat said. 

Sam flew up and over up, carrying a still screaming Sitwell with him. He dropped Sitwell on the roof, landing not far from us, his wings folding back into place. Nat, Steve and I walked over to Sitwell, trapping him in between us and Sam. 

“Zola’s algorithm is a program for choosing insights target’s.” Sitwell gasped out, not even bothering to stand. 

“What targets?” Steve asked. 

“You! A TV anchor in Cairo, the Under Secretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa City, Bruce Banner, Steven Strange, anyone who’s a threat to HYDRA. Now, or in the future.” 

“In the future? How could it know?” 

Sitwell laughed. “How could it not? The 21st century is a digital book.” He said, getting back to his feet. “Zola taught HYDRA how to read it. Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, emails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores! Zola’s algorithm evaluates people’s past to predict their future.” 

“And what then?” Steve asked. 

Sitwell didn’t say anything, his face changing to one of shock. “Oh my god. Peirce is gonna kill me.” 

“What then?” Steve asked, stepping forward. 

“Then the insight helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few million at a time.” 

We ended up in Sam’s car, driving towards SHIELD’s headquarters, Steve and Sam in the front with me squished in the back between Sitwell and Nat. Sitwell wouldn’t stop talking, driving all of us crazy. 

“HYDRA doesn’t like leaks.” Sitwell said. 

“Then why don’t you try sticking a cork in it?” Sam said, looking at him through the rearview mirror. 

  
  


There was a sharp pain in my head and my vision went dark for a second. 

_ We were stopped in the middle of the freeway, cars honking as they dodged around us before a Hummer barreled into us from behind, pushing us forward towards a masked man. The Winter Soldier. _

My eyes snapped open, the red tint passing from my vision. I turned to look behind us, not spotting a Hummer anywhere behind us.

“Insight’s launching in 16 hours, we’re cutting it a little bit close here.” Nat said, leaning forward slightly. 

“I know. We use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the helicarriers directly.” Steve said. 

“What? Are you crazy?” Sitwell said, leaning slightly too close to me. “That’s a terrible, terrible idea-” 

There was a thud on the roof and suddenly the window next to Sitwell shattered, a hand reaching in, yanking Sitwell out of the car, throwing him into oncoming traffic. I saw the flash of a gun and I pushed Nat down, creating a bubble around us as whoever it was shot at us through the roof. Steve reached over, shifting the car to park, throwing the person off the top as the car skidded to a stop. The man stood, his metal arm glinting in the sunlight. I grabbed Nat, crawling into the front so I was sitting on Steve’s lap, Nat beside me. 

The car lurched forward as a Hummer rammed into us from behind, pushing us straight towards the Soldier. He jumped, flipping over the top of us, landing with a thump on the roof, his feet breaking through the back window. Sam hit the brakes, trying to keep us from moving further forward, the tires squealing in protest. A metal hand broke through the glass, grabbing the steering wheel and ripping it out of the car. Nat grabbed a gun, shooting through the roof at the soldier. All we could do was hang on as we swerved through traffic, the Hummer hitting us again, sending us over into the barrier, almost flipping us. 

“Hang on!” Steve said, kicking the door in right as we flipped, breaking the door off its hinges, sending the four of us falling to the pavement. 

We skidded along for quite a ways, Sam letting go, rolling until he came to a stop. We finally came to a stop at the same time as the Hummer, Steve pulling Nat and I up as several men got out of the Hummer. One of them handed the Winter Soldier a grenade launcher, Steve pushing Nat and I out of the way as he shot at Steve. The grenade hit Steve’s shield, sending him flying back over the overpass. 

“Steve!” I yelled, Nat and I ducking behind a van as we were shot at. Nat fired back, but a handgun against machine guns wasn’t exactly a fair fight. 

Nat ducked down beside me. “Get off the overpass. Find Steve.” Nat said. “Go!” 

I ran, jumping over the barricade with Nat as the van exploded, dodging oncoming traffic, the Aether creating a barrier between me and the bullets before I jumped over the barrier, my body falling through the air.

 


	80. The Winter Soldier

I hit the ground, rolling back to my feet. Nat wasn’t far behind me, swinging down to the ground on a grappling hook. Where did she keep this stuff? The two of us ran forward before she stopped me, seeing the shadow of the men on the overpass, waiting for us to go running out. 

“When I start shooting I want you to run.” 

“What about Steve?” 

“He’ll be fine. I want you to get away from here.” 

“I can help.” 

She shook her head. “Not this time.” 

I took a breath before nodding, waiting until she stepped out and started shooting before running along the sidewalk, dodging bullets as they hit the cars I was passing. I dodged through civilians, ducking as a police car exploded behind me. I paused behind a car, taking a moment to breathe. I looked over the top of the car, spotting the soldier just a few feet from me. I held my breath, listening as I heard Natasha’s voice somewhere in front of me. I kept my head down until I heard an explosion, taking that moment to run further away from the fight. I stopped when I saw a flash of red, Nat running in the opposite direction I was, the Soldier following her. 

I jumped up on the hood of a car. “Hey!” I called, the Soldier stopping. 

He turned around, firing at me, but I held my arms up, the Aether creating a shield around me. I walked forward, waiting until he stopped shooting before sending him flying back into a car. He stood up, and even from this distance I could see the anger in his eyes. He stood up, dropping the gun as he stalked towards me. I looked around, making sure no one was around before I sent another blast towards him, but this time he jumped out of the way. Damn it. He learned fast. 

I looked around, trying to see where he went, but he was nowhere to be found. I heard the sound of gunshots a ways away and started running that way. I got closer, seeing the Soldier jump up on the hood of a car, ready to shoot at who I assumed was Natasha before he turned, the sound of metal hitting metal ringing through the air as he punched Steve’s shield. He kicked the shield out of the way, kicking Steve back off the car before shooting at him, dumping the machine gun as Steve hid behind the shield. 

He and Steve fought for a moment before he gained the upper hand, kicking Steve back into a car, holding his shield. I ran forward, shooting a blast at him, but he ducked behind the shield, the Aether bouncing off the shield, coming right back at me. I flew back, my body denting the side of a truck as I hit it. The Soldier dropped the shield, stalking towards me. 

“Steve!” I shouted, attempting to get up, but my muscles were aching from having their own energy used against them. 

His eyes were the only thing I could see as he approached me, and they were deadly. There was no emotion in them, just the cold stare of a predator hunting its prey. He was the lion, and I was the wounded mother gazelle protecting its child. He grabbed me, lifting me off the ground, slamming me back against the truck, knocking the breath out of me. His hand was solid, ice cold metal against my chest, his fingers curling in the dents of my clavicle. The knife in his hand was pressed against my neck, not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to tell me he could end my life before I even knew it. But as I stared up into his eyes, their crystal blue depths piercing my soul, something changed.

The hand on my clavicle faltered a little, the knife not quite pressing as hard against my neck. His eyes softened just barely, that if I'd blinked, I wouldn't have noticed it. His breathing picked up, a frown forming on the part of his face I could see, part of it hidden by his hair.

The knife was pulled away from my neck and he pulled his hand back, ready to stab it into me, but he faltered. He shook his head, taking a half a step back, but his hand never left my chest, still pinning me to the truck. The knife never left his hand, but it lowered down by his side.

"You're..." His voice was rough, like it hadn't been used much, and it had an accent to it, something I couldn't place. "Not my mission." His eyes turned back to me, and for a half a second I thought I was staring at a human being.

But I was wrong as shooting pain sparked in my leg, travelling upward. His body moved closer to mine, pinning me further against the truck. I could feel his breath through the mask, warm as it fanned against my ear, his other hand holding the knife in my thigh. His voice was quiet, the accent dropping for a moment, the metal hand pressing harder against my chest, almost crushing my sternum. He breathed against my ear for a beat before his head tilted further, and if he hadn't been wearing the mask, I was sure his lips would have brushed against my ear.

"Run."

The Aether pushed him back away from me, his body flipping, landing on his feet. I crumpled down to the pavement, clutching the wound in my leg. He had torn the knife from my leg when I threw him back, leaving a gaping wound in my thigh. I clutched at it with one hand while I tried to crawl closer to a waking Steve. He looked up, shaking his head as he came back to, his eyes landing on me. 

“Steve!” I shouted, his body moving just barely in time before the Soldier’s metal hand crushed the asphalt where his head had been seconds ago. 

Steve and the Soldier fought, paying no mind to me as I lay on the pavement, my blood dripping out between my fingers as they clutched my leg. I saw Steve’s shield lying on the ground not far from me. I glanced at the fighting soldiers before dragging myself over to the shield. It’s weight was solid in my hands, reassuring. 

“Steve!” I called when he flipped the soldier to the ground. 

He turned and I threw the shield over to him, using the Aether to make sure it got to him, before my leg gave out under me and I was left leaning on the hood of a car. Okay. Note to self. Try not to use the Aether while it’s trying to heal you. I watched as Steve flipped the Soldier over his shoulder, his mask falling off as he hit the ground. 

Both Steve and I watched as he rolled back to his feet, standing before turning around. I felt like the air had been punched out of me, my legs really giving out on me then. 

“Bucky?” Steve asked, his voice full of disbelief. 

“Who the hell is Bucky?” The Soldier...Bucky...asked, the same look he’d had before in his eyes when he had me pinned to the truck returned for a half a second. 

He turned to shoot at Steve, but Sam flew out of the air, kicking him to the ground. I got up, limping towards Steve, my eyes on the soldier as a confused look came over his face. He genuinely looked like he didn’t want to shoot Steve, but he raised his arm anyways, my arms wrapping around Steve, the Aether taking the bullet for us. Steve ducked down, pulling me down as well as a grenade shot over us, blowing up the car the Soldier had been hiding behind. 

Steve held me up with one arm, looking back where Bucky had been just seconds ago. 

I could hear the sirens in the air, but none of us were in a position to move as we were surrounded by black SUV’s. Several STRIKE team....well HYDRA agents surrounded us, Steve letting me go as both of us dropped to our knees. I forced the Aether back as my hands were cuffed behind my back, instead focusing it on trying to heal my leg. It was healing slowly, but it would be a lot easier if it were healing faster. 

I heard the sound of a helicopter and looked up, seeing a news helicopter above us. Great. I should be expecting a call from my dad if we made it out of this. That was the big question.  _ If  _ we made it out. 

  
  



	81. Black Matte Audi R8

I kind of regretted not using the Aether to get us out of that situation. I regretted not using a lot before. I had been loaded into a different van than the others, strapped in so I couldn’t move a muscle, my leg bent at the most painful position possible. Four guards got in the back, and two in the front. We pulled away, going a different direction than the other van. 

“Where are we going?” I asked, but none of the guards would speak. They all had tense grips on their rifles. 

“Don’t even think about it. One wrong move and we’ll put you down.” 

“Okay.” I said, raising my hands as best I could in surrender. “I can respect that.” I leaned back in my seat, trying to ignore the throbbing in my leg. It was healing, the muscle tingling and pulling as it stitched itself back together. 

“You know, you could at least try to have a conversation with me, so this isn’t so boring.” I said after a while, getting tired of watching the trees go by outside the window. 

None of them said anything. I sighed, tilting my head to crack my neck. They all shifted, gripping their rifles tighter. 

“Hey, hey, hey. I’m just stretching out tight joints here. Don’t get your panties in a bunch.” 

There was a beeping from my back pocket, and I realized I still had my phone on me. They all pointed their guns at me, and I held my hands up as best as I could again. 

“It’s just my phone.” I said, but they didn’t relax. “It’s your fault for not taking it off me in the first place, so technically, you should be pointing your guns at each other.” 

The one directly in front of me lowered his gun, moving across the aisle. “No funny business.” 

“Of course not.” I said as he reached for me. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” 

I headbutted him, sending him stumbling back, the Aether putting up a shield against their gunfire. The Aether reached out, slamming the four of them against the walls as bullets hit the side of the van. The van swerved slightly and I broke out of the restraints, the Aether throwing open the back door of the van. I jumped as the van rolled into the ditch, my body hitting the ground hard before I rolled to a stop. 

“That did not feel good.” I grunted out, getting back to my feet as the Audi drove up next to me. 

“Good car.” I said, opening the driver's side door. “Get me out of here, J.” I said, buckling my seatbelt. 

_ ‘Right away, Miss Stark.’  _

The car lurched forward, speeding down the dirt road. I took a moment to breathe, leaning back in the leather seat. 

“Where are we, JARVIS?” 

**3RD POV**

“Where is Skye?” Steve asked Maria after she’d freed them from their restraints. 

“They loaded her into another van. They were going to kill off you three, but they were taking her somewhere else.” 

“They’re going to experiment on her.” Steve said, looking desperately at Maria. “Try and figure out how the Aether works.” 

“Don’t worry.” She said, pulling out a radio. “I’ve got eyes on her.” The radio beeped as she held a button down. “Birdseye this is the Short Bus. What’s the situation with Mini-Stark?” 

_ “We’re headed North out of D.C. There’s five HYDRA agents in the van. As soon as they stop I’m going to engage. Wait-”  _ Everyone in the van tensed.  _ “There’s a black matte Audi R8 passing me...and it’s driving itself.”  _

“Tell him to fall back. She’ll be okay.” Steve said, smiling just the slightest at the thought of Skye’s precious car. 

“Birdseye, fall back to a safe distance. As soon as you see she’s safe, call me. Then get her on the phone as soon as possible. Take caution. She may be hostile at first.” 

_ “10-4.”  _

**SKYE POV**

_ “Mister Stark is on the line.”  _ JARVIS said as we drove along the dirt road.  _ “He’s rather insistent.”  _

“Fine.” I said, pressing a button on the dash. “Now is really not a good time, Dad.” 

_ ‘Why did I just see news footage of you being arrested with Steve?’  _

“Dad, they weren’t even SHIELD agents, okay. SHIELD is not SHIELD and it ever has been, okay? HYDRA is back, and they filled SHIELD full to the brim with sleepers. Steve and I have been busy trying to evade getting killed by them.” 

He was silent for a moment. ‘ _ Then why did I get a distress signal from JARVIS showing me that you’d been stabbed?’  _

“We ran into some trouble like you already saw. I’m fine.” 

_ ‘You don’t sound fine.’  _

“Dad, it’s been a really long couple of days and I’d rather not get into all of the gritty details right now.” 

_ “Obstruction ahead.”  _ JARVIS said. 

_ ‘Obstruction-are you using the car?’  _

“It came to my rescue! What else was I supposed to do?” 

_ ‘Is it working?’  _

“Better than ever. It even flew the other day.” 

_ ‘What were you doing flying it?’  _

“Escaping SHIELD with Steve.” The car slowed, showing an SUV blocking the road. “Dad, I’m gonna have to call you back.” I hung up on him. “Disengage autopilot.” I said. 

_ “Autopilot disengaged.”  _

I brought the Audi to a stop a few yards from the SUV. The driver’s side door opened, a man in a suit stepping out. I pressed the button on the dash, the machine gun folding out of the hood, pointing right at the man. He put his hands up, one of them holding a phone. 

“Skye Stark? I was sent here on behalf of Agent Maria Hill.” 

I rolled down my window, sticking my head out. “How do I know I can trust you?” 

“I have Captain Rogers on the phone right now.” 

I leaned back in the car, chewing my lip. He was either telling the truth, or he wasn’t. I figured I was in the better position here, so what did I have to lose? 

“Sentry mode.” 

_ “Sentry mode activated.”  _

I got out of the car, the machine gun still trained on the man. It followed him as he stepped forward, handing the phone out to me. I took it, standing back away from him slightly. 

“Steve?” 

_ ‘Skye? Are you alright?’  _ I had never been so glad to hear his voice in my entire life. 

“I’m fine. What about you? What happened?” 

_ ‘We’re fine. Agent Hill got us out of there and took us to a safehouse. She said to trust the man in the suit. He’ll lead you to the safehouse.’  _

“Okay. I’ll see you soon, then.” 

_ ‘Skye, I love you. I never wanted any of this to happen.’  _

“Save it for when I see you face to face. I hate it when you sound like it’s the last time I’ll see you.” 

_ ‘Yes ma’am. I’ll see you soon.’  _ I could just picture him saluting there. 

I handed the phone back to the man in the suit. He looked a little nervous with the machine gun trained on him. I turned back to the car. 

“Stand down. He’s a friendly.” 

The machine gun folded back into the hood. 

“That’s so cool.” He said. 

“So I’m following you to wherever you’re safehouse is.” 

“Right. You’ll just...follow me.” He said, motioning to the car. 

“I’m not leaving my baby behind again. He’s along for this ride till the end.” 


	82. Suiting Up

_ The room was dimly lit, the lights making everything appear with a greenish tint. There were several armed guards surrounding a man in a chair, their guns trained on a man with a metal arm. Bucky. His arms were strapped down, but he was sitting to the best of his ability. I was standing off in a corner, watching like a bystander that no one else could see.  _

_ The door opened, a man in a suit, followed by the man who’d been there to arrest us, the one I didn’t like, was trailing behind him. Two men in white shirts, followed by two more armed guards followed in after him.  _

_ The man in the suit approached Bucky, signalling for the guards to lower their guns. He took his glasses off, slipping them in his pocket.  _

_ “Mission report.”  _

_ Bucky didn’t say anything, his eyes trained off in the distance, almost like he was looking right through me.  _

_ “Mission report now.”  _

_ Bucky still didn’t say anything, so the man in the suit stepped forward, bending down so he was eye level with Bucky. He paused for a second before backhanding him. I winced, trying to keep myself from tackling the man in the suit, even though I knew I couldn’t move and it wouldn’t do any good.  _

_ “The man on the bridge.” Bucky finally said, his voice rough from not being used. “Who was he?”  _

_ “You met him earlier this week on another assignment.” The man in the suit said.  _

_ “I knew him. And the girl.” I heart skipped a beat on that one. “The dark haired one. I knew her too. From a dream.”  _

_ “That’s impossible.” The man in the suit said, sitting down on one of the stools. “Your work has been a gift to mankind. You shaped the century. I need you to do it one more time. Society’s at a tipping point between order and chaos. And tomorrow morning, we’re gonna give it a push. But, if you don’t do your part, I can’t do mine. And HYDRA can’t give the world the freedom it deserves.”  _

_ “But I knew him.”  _

_ The man in the suit sighed before standing up. “Prep him.”  _

_ “He’s been out of cryo freeze too long.” One of the men in white shirts said.  _

_ “Then wipe him and start over.”  _

_ I desperately wanted to move, to do something, but I couldn’t. My conscious had me rooted to the spot. I was forced to watch as the two men pushed Bucky back in his seat, one of them giving him a mouthguard to bite down on. His arms were strapped down, his head tilted back as the machine around him hummed as it came to life. It moved down around his head, electricity sparking from the ends. He yelled, the sound muffled slightly by the mouthguard as the machine closed around his head. I closed my eyes, covering my mouth as I listened to his yells of pain- _

A knock on my window brought me out of the trance I’d been in. I shook the sleep from my head, wiping the tears that had fallen from my face before rolling down the window. 

“We’re here.” The man who’d escorted me said. 

“Okay.” I said, nodding. “Give me a minute.” 

“I’ll alert Captain Rogers of our arrival.” 

I nodded before rolling the window up, giving myself a moment to breathe as I leaned my head against the steering wheel. I wasn’t sure how, but I understood now, that’s what was being hidden from me. But why? Why was I having these visions now, and not before? Bucky had indeed survived the fall, and had been alive for 70 years, why hadn’t they started earlier? 

_ Because the future can change. And your future is changing. _

I shook my head, making sure I didn’t look like I’d just been crying before getting out of the car. There was a guard standing by the gated entrance into the building. I had been out for most of the ride, so I had no clue where we were, or even how long it took to get there. The gated door was opened for me and I walked into the warehouse, getting tackled by Nat in a hug. 

“I knew you’d make it out of there.” 

“A few HYDRA guards are nothing. Not when you have unmeasurable power inside you.” She smiled at me. “Where’s Steve?” 

“Outside getting some air. Come on. I’ll take you to him.” 

We walked through the maze of halls before we came to a door. I nodded my thanks before stepping outside on a bridge. Steve was staring down at the ground below, completely lost in thought. 

“Hey.” I said quietly, approaching him. His head snapped up, a frown on his face before a relieved look came over it. 

I ran to him, meeting him halfway as he scooped me up into his arms. He spun us around before lowering me so my toes were on the ground. He leaned down, pressing a kiss against my lips. I tangled my fingers in his hair, pressing my body against his as we kissed. 

He broke away first, leaning his forehead against mine as we breathed. “I thought you were gone. I thought I’d never see you again.” He said, cupping my face, his thumb running over my lower lip. 

“I’m okay. It was the car that broke me out.” 

“How did it know where to find you?” 

“JARVIS read my distress signals from my phone. Must have powered it up, sent it to my rescue. Though I have a lot of explaining to do to my dad, but that can wait. Steve, I saw him.” 

“Saw who?” He asked, frowning. 

“Bucky. In a vision. I saw what they’ve done to him, what they’re doing to him. It’s awful Steve. It’s no wonder he didn’t remember you.” 

Steve’s hands fell from my face as he stood up straight, his fists clenching at his sides. I slid my hands from his hair down his arms to his hands so he was holding mine instead. 

“It’s not your fault, Steve. As a person that can see the future, I can tell you that certain things are meant to happen. Granted, they aren’t good things, but Bucky’s got a bigger role to play in this than even I can understand right now.” 

Steve opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted. 

“He’s gonna be there, you know.” Sam said, walking up to where we were standing. 

Steve turned slightly so he could see Sam. His voice was flat when he answered. “I know.” 

“Look, whoever he used to be and the guy he is now, I don’t think he’s the kind you save. He’s the kind you stop.” 

Steve’s grip on my hand tightened a little. “I don’t know if I can do that.” 

“Well, he might not give you a choice. He doesn’t know you.” 

“He will.” Steve turned his head down to me before looking off in the distance again. “Gear up. It’s time.” He tugged my hand, pulling me along with him as he walked away from Sam. 

“You gonna wear that?” Sam asked. 

“No. If you’re gonna fight a war, you got to wear a uniform.” 

“And where are we getting this uniform?” I asked as we walked. 

“The only place that has a spare one.” 

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I said, almost having to jog to keep up with him. “I’m not breaking into the Smithsonian.” 

“I’m not asking you to. I’m just asking to borrow your car.” 

I shook my head at him. “You just said that because you knew I’d have no choice but to come with you.” 

“You don’t have to. You could stay here.” He said, opening the driver’s side door. “I’d rather you would.” 

“I know. But you should know that I’m not backing down from a fight. Not when you could get hurt.” I moved around to the passenger side, getting in the car. 

Steve smirked, getting in beside me, starting the car. “When this is all over, you and I are going to get away for a couple weeks. I’m gonna take you on vacation. Somewhere far away where we can disappear for a while. Have some time to ourselves.” 

“And what exactly do you have planned for the time to ourselves?”    
“I think you have an idea.” I hummed, looking out the window as the trees passed. “Why don’t you get some sleep. See if you get any visions.” 

“You know I can’t do it on command.” 

“No, but if you concentrate hard enough, I’m sure you’ll come up with something. Plus I don’t know the last time you slept.” 

“I could say the same about you.” I said before curling up in the seat, letting the hum of the engine lull me to sleep. 


	83. Engaging

_ Soft hair brushed against my skin as soft lips sucked at my neck. My head fell back, my fingers threading in the soft, dark hair, pulling it back from his face. His cheek grazed my jaw, his stubble rough against my skin. Two hands, one warm flesh, the other cold metal ran down my sides, lifting my hips so my legs wrapped around his waist. His arms wrapped around my back, lifting me effortlessly so I was sitting in his lap.  _

_ “You’re so tiny. So pliable.” He said, teeth nipping at my collar bone. “No wonder Stevie likes you so much.” His hands slid down into my underwear, cupping my ass before pushing my hips against his.  _

_ I could feel him through his jeans, very ready for whatever was going to transpire between us for the next couple hours.  _

_ “You’re sure about this?” He asked, looking up at me with those gorgeous blue eyes.  _

_ “Yes.” I gasped, my fingers tightening in his hair, pulling it slightly. “Fuck me, Bucky.”  _

I jerked awake, my heart pounding in my chest. It was dark out and I realized my car was parked outside the Smithsonian. Steve was nowhere to be seen, probably having snuck in already to steal his old uniform. I couldn’t process my vision. My brain was in overdrive from what I’d seen. My heart was pounding, breaths shallow as the vision replayed in my mind. Now I kinda wished I couldn’t see the visions again. Not if I was going to be seeing things like that. I hadn’t realized I’d been clutching on to Steve’s shield. It was sitting in my lap, a sturdy, heavy weight. And I was gripping on to it for dear life. 

I clutched it tighter, jumping a little as the driver’s side door opened, Steve slipping in. He had donned the uniform, all except for the helmet, which he dumped in my lap. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked, looking over at me. 

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. “Nothing.” I said, looking over at him, giving him the best fake smile I could. 

“No, don’t you ‘nothing’ me.” He said, glancing down at where I was still white-knuckling his shield. “Something’s wrong. Was it a vision?” 

I nodded, loosening my grip on his shield. “But it wasn’t anything that’s happening soon. I don’t think.” 

“You don’t think?” 

“It wasn’t about SHIELD or HYDRA or Project Insight, or even you. It was just...different.” 

“Was it about Bucky again?” He said, finally starting the car. 

“Kinda. But he’s okay. Or he will be okay.” 

Steve didn’t say anything, just tightened his grip on the steering wheel as he pulled away from the Smithsonian. He drove back out of D.C., meeting up with Sam and Agent Hill not far from SHIELD’s HQ. The sun was starting to come up, meaning we had a limited amount of time before things got real. 

“So what’s the plan?” I asked Steve. 

“We get inside, break the news to those that don’t know yet that SHIELD is actually HYDRA, then we get on the helicarriers, and plant the chips to keep them from wiping out thousands of people.” 

“Right.” I said nodding. “Sounds simple enough.” 

Agent Hill, Sam and I made our way to SHIELD HQ, managing to sneak in without being seen. We made our way to one of the control rooms, Agent Hill messing with the satellite so they would open the door. 

The young man that opened the door looked ready to piss himself when he saw the four of us. 

“Excuse us.” Steve said and he put his hands up, backing away from the door.  We let them leave, Steve taking over the PA system. He took a breath before turning it on. “Attention all SHIELD agents, this is Steve Rogers. You’ve heard a lot about me over the last few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it’s time you know the truth.” He took a moment before continuing. “SHIELD is not what we thought it was. It’s been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don’t know how many more, but I know they’re in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want. Absolute control. They shot Nick Fury. And it won’t end there. If you launch those helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way. Unless we stop them. I know I’m asking a lot. But the price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it’s a price I’m willing to pay. And if I’m the only one, then so be it. But I’m willing to bet I’m not.” 

Steve straightened back up and Sam walked closer to him. 

“Did you write that down first, or was it off the top of your head?” 

Steve just shrugged, a smile on his face. Agent Hill logged onto the computers, setting up com links for us. 

“Stay here.” Steve said, putting his hand on my shoulder. 

“No.” I said, standing my ground. “I’m coming with you.” 

“Skye, things could get ugly.” 

“I know. But you need all the help you can get.” 

Steve stared down at me for a moment before nodding. “Alright. But stay with me.” 

I squeezed his hand before the two of us, along with Sam all made our way to where the helicarriers were being launched. I knew there was a reason I should have started running more. 

“They’re initiating launch.” Agent Hill’s voice came over the com. 

“Hey, Cap, how do we know the good guys from the bad guys?” Sam asked as we ran across the runway outside the Triskelion. 

“If they’re shooting at you, they’re bad.” Steve said, running towards the edge of the landing. 

Sam’s wings fired up, extending from his pack before the three of us jumped, Steve and I landing down on one of the helicarriers while Sam flew towards another. I had to push hard, running behind Steve on the helicarrier. 

Steve ducked behind some crates as we were shot at, the Aether putting up a bubble as I ran straight towards the HYDRA agents. The Aether built up energy before throwing several of them back. There was an explosion off to my right, debris flying up in the air. 

_ “Hey, Cap.”  _ Sam said over the com.  _ “I found those bad guys you were talking about.”  _

“You okay?” 

_ “I’m not dead yet.”  _

I ran alongside the crates, following the bodies flying over the top of the crates to the door that would lead us where we needed to go. 

_ “Falcon, status?” _ Agent Hill asked. 

_ “Engaging.” _ There was a few moments of silence.  _ “All right, Cap. I’m in.”  _

_ “Eight minutes, Cap.”  _ Agent Hill said. 

I took out the last guard, meeting Steve halfway to the door. 

“Working on it.” Steve said before he yanked the door open. “Stay on deck, take out anything that shoots at you. I’ll be back.” He said and I nodded before he disappeared. 

It was silent for a moment before Steve came over the com. _ “Alpha lock.”  _

_ “Falcon, where are you now?”  _ Agent Hill asked. 

_ “I had to take a detour.”  _ I could hear gunfire on the other end.

There was a sharp pain in my head and my vision went dark. 

_ “All SHIELD pilots, scramble. We’re the only air support Captain Rogers has got.”  _

_ Suddenly a missile went shooting over the pilot’s heads, blowing up one of the quinjets, sending it crashing into the runway. There was another explosion, taking out some of the pilots and air crew. Guns went off and several more crew fell to the ground. Another quinjet blew up, and then I saw him. A glint of silver running across the air strip, blowing up quinjets as he went.  _

I jerked back to reality. We’re gonna need some help. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, typing in my code before pressing the emergency button. I was going to get hell for this, but I didn’t know what else to do. I took one last look at the door before running out on to the deck, taking out the HYDRA agents that had started gathering there. There was the whirring of an engine and my car landed in front of me. I slid in the driver’s seat, buckling myself in. 

“JARVIS, flight mode. We’re gonna need lots of air support.” 

_ “Flight mode activated.”  _

The car lifted off the helicarrier, the wings folding out of the sides as the repulsors fired up. “Alright.” I said, pressing a button on the dash. “Let’s show ‘em what we got.” The machine gun popped out of the top. I pressed the button on the steering wheel, firing at the HYDRA agents on deck. 

_ “I’m in.”  _ Sam said. There was a moment of silence.  _ “Bravo lock.”  _

_ “Two down, one to go.”  _ Agent Hill said. 

_ “Charlie carrier is 45 degrees off the port bow. Six minutes.”  _

I saw Steve running towards the edge of the helicarrier, even more agents chasing after him. 

_ “Hey, Sam, gonna need a ride.”  _

_ “Roger. Let me know when you’re ready.”  _

One of the agents fired a bazooka at him, and he was forced to jump over the edge. I took out the remaining agents watching as Steve fell over the side. 

_ “I just did.”  _

Sam dove down, catching Steve before flying him towards the third helicarrier. I flew that direction as well, but was stopped as gunfire hit the side of the car. 

“Really?” I asked, pointing the machine gun towards the quinjet. “You had to shoot my car.” 

_ “You had to bring the car into this?”  _ Steve asked. 

“Hey, I said I was going to help.” 

I fired at the quinjet, taking out one of its engines. “My dad is gonna be so pissed.” 

_ “Steve!”  _ I heard Sam yell and I saw him fall off the edge of the helicarrier. Sam went to fly after him, but was caught by Bucky. 

“JARVIS, find him.” 

_ “Target locked.”  _

I dove down, flying right under Steve. There was a thump as he landed on the roof. The passenger door opened and he slid in. 

“What is it you said about my car?” I asked, looking over at him. He just shook his head. 

_ “Cap! Cap, come in. Are you okay?”  _ Sam asked. 

“Yeah, I’m here. Skye’s got me. Where are you?” 

“I’m grounded. The suit’s down. Sorry, Cap.” 

“Don’t worry. I got it.” He turned to me. “Get me as close to the helicarrier as you can.” 

I flew over to it, finding a nook I could squeeze into. He opened the door, ready to jump out. 

“Steve, I’m coming with you.” 

“No, Skye.” He said. “Not this time.” 

“Steve, you need my help. You don’t have to do this alone. I told you I’d stay with you. And I mean it.” 

He was silent for a second before nodding.  _ “ _ Fine. But the second things get ugly, you run.” 

“Autopilot mode.” I said, moving into Steve’s lap. “J, take her home.” 

Steve held me against his chest as he jumped from the car, landing on the helicarrier. He put my back on my feet before entering the helicarrier. I followed him to where the control center was, Steve pausing partway on the catwalk. I peeked around his shoulder, seeing Bucky standing in the way.

“People are gonna die, Buck. I can’t let that happen.” He didn’t say anything, just stood there staring at Steve. “Please don’t make me do this.” Steve said. 

There was a tense moment before Steve threw the shield, Bucky deflecting it with his arm. Steve caught it just in time before Bucky shot at him. Steve deflected his shots, pushing him closer to the control center before pushing him back. Bucky dropped the gun, pulling a knife from his belt instead. I moved up behind Steve, pushing Bucky back with the Aether. He struggled against it, and I could feel the Aether trying to pull back, but I held it steady. 

“Steve, go!” I said, moving so Steve could get to the control center. 

The Aether dissipated and I ducked as Bucky swung at me, just barely missing me with the knife. I kicked at him, hitting him in the gut before he pushed me into the railing, knocking the wind out of me for a moment, before going back to Steve. 

I used the Aether to grab Bucky, sending him down to the ground hard. Bucky turned back to me, swinging at me, which I managed to dodge a couple times before he sent a blow to my face with his metal hand, knocking me to the ground, my vision going dark. 

  
  



	84. Till The End of the Line

My face hurt. I was pretty sure my nose was broken, warm, sticky blood dripping down my face to my lips. I could taste it in my mouth, and I checked to make sure I still had all my teeth. Yeah, we were good there. I probably already had a massive bruise on my cheek, and my lip was cut and bleeding down my chin. I was probably concussed, my vision swimming just a little bit. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been out, but I couldn’t hear the sound of fighting around me. I couldn’t hear Steve, or Bucky. 

Steve.

I slowly got up, looking around me, not seeing anyone. I looked down, frantically looking for any signs of broken glass before I spotted them. Steve had his arm around Bucky’s neck, Bucky trying to get away from him, but he was slowing down. He finally stopped moving, Steve letting him go, grabbing the chip from where Bucky had dropped it. Steve climbed his way back up, almost to the railing when I saw Bucky move. 

“Steve!” I shouted, but Bucky had already fired, hitting Steve in the leg. 

“Skye!” He shouted and I ducked as Bucky shot at me. 

“Throw it!” I shouted, ready to use my power to catch it. I leaned over the railing stretching my arm out, and pain erupted in my left shoulder. 

I stumbled back, looking down at the hole in my shirt just under my collar bone, red quickly seeping out from it. 

“Skye!” I heard Steve’s frantic yell, more gunshots sounding. 

Steve rolled up onto the catwalk, rolling towards where I had slumped against the railing. 

“Go.” I said, pushing him towards the control center. “Don’t worry about me.” 

I had to get the bullet out. I knew that much. I focused my energy on my shoulder, knowing I could be weakening myself by doing it, but I needed to get that bullet out. My hands shook as I focused, crying out as the bullet was ripped from my shoulder, clanking to the catwalk by my side. I crawled over to where Steve had fallen, his breathing hard. 

“Fire now.” Steve said into the comlink. I could see the blood pooling around his abdomen, making my breath hitch. 

“Steve, we gotta get out of here.” I said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “We gotta-” I pulled him up with as much energy as I could, my left arm crying out in protest. It was still bleeding heavily, but I could feel the Aether already starting to heal it. 

The helicarriers began firing at each other, making it all the more difficult to walk. There was a cry of pain and Steve stopped, looking down over the side of the railing. Bucky was stuck under a large piece of metal that had fallen. 

“Steve, no.” 

“I-I can’t leave him.” He breathed. “Go. Get out of here.” 

“I’m not leaving you.” I looked back down at Bucky. “I think I can get him out.” 

Both of us jumped, both of us crumpling to the ground when we hit. Steve was in worse shape than I was. I moved towards Bucky, stumbling as the helicarrier crashed into the Triskelion. I tried to stabilize myself, focusing the all of the Aether’s energy on the piece of metal. Tendrils of the red smoke wrapped around the metal, straining to lift it. It lifted just to the point where Bucky could slip out from under it. Steve moved over to him as I swayed on my feet. I hadn’t expelled that much energy since Greenwich, and even then it hadn’t been me controlling the Aether. And I hadn’t been injured then. 

I moved over to where Bucky and Steve were, Steve straining to get back on his feet. Steve said something to Bucky, and Bucky got up to his feet, punching Steve. 

“No!” I shouted, running at Bucky but he caught me with his metal hand, the cold fingers wrapping around my throat. 

I almost blacked out then, Bucky’s hand almost crushing my windpipe. He threw me, my body sailing out of the gaping hole in the helicarrier. I didn’t even scream as I fell, the air rushing around me. I knew there was a 50/50 chance of me hitting either water or solid ground. Neither would end well for me, but at that moment, I didn’t care. 

There was a familiar whirring sound and arms wrapped around me, pulling me against something solid and metal. I wrapped my good arm around the suit before he took off, flying across the Potomac to the bank across the river. 

I collapsed as soon as my feet touched the ground, sobs leaving my mouth as tears ran down my face. 

“Skye.” My dad said, kneeling down in front of me. “Look at me.” 

“It’s too much.” I stuttered out, tears still falling down my face as I watched the helicarrier fall into the river. “I can’t do this.” 

“I know. You shouldn’t have to.” 

He pulled my face into his chest, letting me cry on his shoulder. I gripped his shirt with my good arm, anchoring myself. He held me while I cried, not saying anything, just being there. My mind was reeling, the rest of my body numb as we sat there in the dirt. So much had happened over the past few days, and it had all been too much. I was finally shutting down. Then the vision I’d had popped into my brain. 

I let go of my dad, pushing away from him. “I have to find him.” I said, stumbling as I stood up. 

“Skye.” My dad said, trying to grab my before I ran off, but I was too fast. “Skye!” 

"Steve!" I yelled, running through the trees. My heart was pumping again, my blood racing as I ran, looking along the bank for any sign of his body. I knew I’d find him, but I wasn’t sure where. "Steve!" I yelled, desperation pitching my voice up higher.

And that was when I saw it. I came to a small clearing on the bank, seeing both Bucky and Steve there. Steve was unconscious, bleeding on the bank while Bucky stood over him. At the sound of my approaching footsteps he stood, his eyes landing on me. We stared at each other for what seemed like forever, neither of us moving. I was too scared to. He looked to Steve, then back to me before turning and walking away. I watched him until I couldn't see him anymore, my heart still pounding.

I turned back to Steve, rushing to his side. He was still breathing but he didn't look good. I brushed my good hand along his face where it wasn’t bruised, feeling it’s warmth still under my hand. I heard footsteps behind me, my dad coming through the trees not far from me. The tears, I realized, hadn’t stopped falling, and I bit my lip, staring down at him. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket, dialing Natasha’s number. 

_ ‘Skye?’ _   
“Hey, Nat.” I said, my voice breaking. 

_ ‘Where are you? What happened?’  _

“I’m on a bank not far from the Triskelion. I have Steve with me.” 

_ ‘Okay. Stay where you are. We’re coming to get you.’  _

They stuck true to their word, picking up both me and Steve. They took us to a hospital, my arm getting stitched up and put in a sling, even though I knew it would be healed in a day, maybe less. They had taken Steve in for surgery, but the super soldier serum was already healing him, albeit slowly. 

“I wanna go back to New York with you.” I said, standing outside Steve’s room with my dad. 

“You sure? You could stay.” 

“I know.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “But I-” 

“Shh.” My dad said, cutting me off. “I know. You gonna say goodbye?” 

I nodded. “I’ll-uh, write him a note. Let him know. For now can we get my stuff from the apartment?” 

My dad had a moving crew already there by the time we got there. I didn’t know why we needed one. It wasn’t like I had all that much that needed moved. Just a few boxes worth. I paused by the bullet holes through the wall that had started this whole thing. I sat down at the dinner table, grabbing paper and a pen while the movers packed my boxes down the stairs. 

_ Steve,  _

_ I wasn’t sure when you were going to wake up, so I had to write this in a letter. It’s been a rough past few days, to put it lightly. We’ve all been through a tough time, and I think it would be best if we got some space. Work some things out. I’m going back to New York with my dad so you can focus on your search for Bucky. It’s gonna be hard, but I think it will be good for us. We have our own agendas, and it was only a matter of time before things started going downhill. I still love you, Steve, and I always will. That won’t ever change.  _

_ If you ever need me, you know where to find me.  _

_ Love,  _

_ Skye.  _

 


	85. Adjusting

New York is such a beautiful city. Especially early in the morning, when the sun is just first coming up, the orange and pink glows lighting up the surrounding buildings. I liked to sit out on the balcony in the morning and watch the sun come up, listen to the sounds of the city, enjoy the cool spring air and the nice weather. Unless it was raining. It was May, and the rain was coming down with a vengeance. It was like Thor had found out what had happened, and just decided to wallow in my misery with me. It had been raining for almost a week straight now. But that didn’t stop me. I still sat out in it, letting it run over my skin, cleansing away all of the pain and hurt I felt. It had been over a month since D.C., and Steve hadn’t called me. Sam had texted, saying he’d woken up, but that was it. I hadn’t heard from them since. Granted, I had pretty much broken up with Steve through a letter, then just disappeared, I didn’t blame him. But it didn’t mean it hurt any less. 

“You know you’re gonna get sick one of these days.” 

“I can’t get sick. Not anymore.” 

“An added bonus to your condition.” 

“I really wish you wouldn’t call it that.” I said, running my fingers over the faint scar on my left shoulder. 

“Then what do you want me to call it?” 

I didn’t say anything. I didn’t know what to call it. I knew it’s name, and I knew what it was, but what it was doing to me...that was something else entirely. It was continuing to change me. Physically, mentally, as it fed on more and more of my power. 

“Skye, get out of the rain.” My dad said, stepping out of the doorway. 

“Does it ever get easier?” I asked, looking up at him, blinking the rain from my eyes. 

“Eventually.” He wrapped a towel around my shoulders, hauling me up and inside the tower. “Now, go take a hot shower. Get yourself warmed up. Breakfast is almost ready.” 

“I’m not hungry.” I said, staring down at my bare feet. 

“We’re not doing this again, Skye.” I knew better than to argue with him, so I went up to my room to take a shower like he said. 

I stood under the shower head, letting the warm water wash over me. The temperature was controlled by JARVIS since I was so numb I couldn’t feel the difference between hot and cold. The last thing my dad needed was me to end up scalding myself and not know it. I stood under the water, not moving. My fingers touched the thin line on my thigh where Bucky had stabbed me during our fight in the streets of D.C., before I even knew he was Bucky. 

My eyes fluttered closed, my body leaning forward, my arm resting on the cool tile wall of the shower. 

_ “I missed you.” He said, smiling down at me, his hand on my cheek.  _

_ “I know.” I took his free hand with mine, my hand coming to rest on his on my cheek. “I missed you too. It was hell without you. I couldn’t sleep, because every time I closed my eyes you were there. I knew you were safe alive But it didn’t make it any easier.”  _

_ “Come away with me. Just for a while. Let me take you somewhere private. Safe.”  _

I blinked, wiping the hair away from my face, letting the water run down my face. Since I hadn’t been sleeping, I’d started having visions while I was awake. Sometimes they were seconds before it actually happened, some were far in the future. But even seeing things like that didn’t make it any easier. 

I shut the water off, standing there under the shower, my hand still on the control. Goosebumps covered my skin at the temperature change, but I barely felt anything. Water was dripping from my hair, sliding down my skin. I pulled my hand away from the control, my fingers shaking, covered in red blood. I stared at it as it dripped down my fingers, the warm liquid sliding down my skin. I felt something dripping on my forehead and looked up, watching the red liquid drip from the nozzle, onto my face. I looked back at the tiles, blood splattered across them, splattered on my skin, sliding down the walls, across my skin. 

I blinked, the blood gone, but not the shaking in my fingers. I sighed, stepping out onto the bathmat, grabbing my towel from the hook so I could dry myself off. I needed to get to breakfast quickly before my dad sent someone to get me. 

I padded out to my bedroom, walking across the carpet to my closet. I stepped inside, pulling on underwear, my hand ghosting over the white shirt I’d stolen from Steve before grabbing the flannel next to it, and a pair of leggings. I pulled on a pair of converse, French braiding my hair as I left my room, walking to the kitchen for breakfast. 

I sat down across from my dad where he had his nose buried in a tablet. I looked down at my plate of bacon, eggs and pancakes. I used to make that for Steve when he’d come back from a run in the morning. I felt the tears well up behind my eyes and I blinked them back, my fork shaking slightly in my hand. My dad shifted, but I didn’t look up at him. 

“If you don’t want that, then go make yourself a bowl of cereal, or have a banana.” He said. 

I just shook my head, looking away from my plate. I heard him sigh and rustle around a little bit before he put something on the table in front of me. I looked up, seeing an open jewelry box. Inside was a diamond ring. I picked the box up, looking down at the ring. 

“That was the ring I was going to give to your mother. After you were born, I was going to propose. I take it out sometimes, look at it. Sometimes I carry it around in my pocket. A reminder of how things could have been. How different they would be now. It gets easier, but I still have my days too.” 

I brushed my finger over the diamond in the center before closing the lid, pushing it across the table towards him with shaking fingers. I stared at the floor, blinking away the tears. “It shouldn’t hurt this much.” I said quietly. “It was my choice to leave.” 

“I know you regret it.” 

“I should have been there when he woke up. I should be out there with him now. I shouldn’t be such a coward.” 

My dad moved around the table, pulling the chair beside me out, leaning his elbow on his knee as he sat. He gripped my chin firmly, lifting my face so I was looking him in the eye. 

“You are not a coward. You were brave enough to leave him when you didn’t want to because you knew you needed space. It sucks. It hurts, but you’re not a coward for leaving. I don’t want to hear you say that again, okay?” I nodded and he let go of my chin. “Okay. Now, have some cereal or something then come help me fix your car.” 

I grabbed a bowl of Cheerios before doing what he said, heading down to go see the real damage that had been done to it during the fight. 

“You had to get shot at?” He asked as he looked over the exterior of the car. 

“Would you rather have had them hit the car, or me?” 

He was silent for a moment. “Good point.” 

“At least we know it’s bulletproof now.” I said shrugging. 

“I kind of figured when I bought bulletproof material that it would be bulletproof. I never actually intended for you to have to test that.” 

“Well, it kept me safe. Saved Steve from falling off a helicarrier. Saved me from being kidnapped by HYDRA.” 

“What?” My dad yelled, spinning around. 

The spoon in my hand fell back into the bowl, splattering milk on my shirt. “Oh crap.” I breathed. “You didn’t...I didn’t...” 

“Skye Maria Stark, you better start talking.” 


	86. Regrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is very different from what I've written before. So let me know what you think. And there is a bit of torture in this one, but I tried not to go into too much detail.

I was drowning. Or at least it felt that way. My head was underwater, hands holding me down. My lungs were burning as I held my breath, my body trying to fight its way back to the surface, to precious oxygen. The grip on my arms tightened, pulling me up forcefully. I gasped, my lungs aching as they took in oxygen, water splashing everywhere. Water ran down my face, my hair sticking to it, my hair sticking to my face. I wanted to wipe my hair out of my eyes, but my wrists were tied behind my back with a zip-tie.I was forced back down on my knees, water soaking into my jeans. A rough hand grabbed my chin, tilting my face up. Every fiber of my being was telling me to take them out, the Aether practically tearing me apart to get to them, but something was keeping it inside me. 

“Where is the soldier?” A rough voice demanded.

“I don't know.” I gasped out. “I already told you. I haven’t seen him since D.C. That was almost two months ago.” 

A dark chuckle filled the room. “We know about your abilities.”

“I haven’t had any visions of him! And if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.” 

Apparently that wasn't a good enough answer because I found myself being forced back into the water, barely having enough time to draw in a breath before I was submerged again. They held me down longer this time, taking me to the point where I almost inhaled water before I was yanked out again. I was dropped on my knees, sputtering and coughing, the two pairs of hands holding me still as I tried to fight them.

“I'm only going to ask once more. Where is the soldier?”

I could barely think with the lack of oxygen I was taking in. “I’ve already answered that question.” 

“Protecting him won’t do you any good. If I remember correctly, he tried to kill you, along with your lover. We’ll find him with or without you. Giving him up will only mean you’ll live to see lover again.” 

“I told you I don’t know where he is.” I gasped out, tears mixing with the water dripping down my face. It was silent for a moment, aside from footsteps that echoed around me. A body crouched behind mine, the other hands holding me still as warm breath fanned over my ear.

“Such a shame to ruin such a pretty face. You should have told me.” He backed away and I was forced into the water again, but this time, the hands held my head down, my feet slipping on the wet tile as I desperately tried to find a way to keep myself from drowning.

**27 Hours Earlier: 10:24 AM**

“So when you saw us get arrested on the news by what everyone thought was SHIELD, well, they were going to execute Steve, Sam and Nat, and they were going to take me somewhere else to test the Aether. And that’s when the car found me and broke me out and you called me and I hung up on you.” 

“Yeah. You had to hang up on me?” 

“I told you it wasn’t a good time. I was a little busy trying to escape HYDRA.” 

“Yeah, and you had me panicking because you had been stabbed.” 

“Well, I was just trying to protect Steve, and it could have been a lot worse.” 

“Like when I caught you as you were plummeting towards the ground from a helicarrier crashing into the Triskelion.” 

I nodded. “Yeah. Like that.” 

My dad shook his head. “Part of me wants to lock you up and never let you leave the tower again, but another part of me knows you’re an adult that happens to be a trouble magnet and I won’t be able to keep you safe all the time.” 

I nodded. “Exactly. Besides, children are supposed to make mistakes.” 

“Almost getting killed repeatedly is not most people’s definition of a mistake.”

“But I’m not most people. My dad’s a genius, billionaire superhero, my boyfriend was a 95 year old American Icon and superhero and I’m a half Asgardian who happens to be the host of an unmeasurable amount of power that’s slowly eating away at me.”  

He gave me a look. “I get your point. But still. You had me worried sick.” 

“I know.” I said quietly, looking down at my dirty converse. “I just didn’t want you to get involved, and possibly get hurt.” 

“Hey. I’m supposed to be the one saying that.” I laughed a little. “It’s just hard for me to think that you’re already so grown up. I remember back before all of this happened. Back when I was just a billionaire single father, and we didn’t have to worry firsthand about global threats and aliens and HYDRA.” 

“I know. Life seemed simpler back then. But it would be drastically different if things had continued that way.” 

“I wouldn’t have had to give you a talk about safe sex before you went off with your 95 year old war veteran boyfriend.” 

“Dad, when you say it like that, it sounds disturbing. Plus he’s only...27-ish...physically.” 

“Still.” My dad said, picking up the tablet off the workbench. “He is 95 in human years.” 

“Dad. Not this again.” I groaned, standing up. “I’m gonna head next door and grab something to eat. Do you want anything?” 

“Nah. I’m good.” 

“Okay.” I kissed his cheek. “I’ll be back in 15.” I said, walking towards the elevator. 

“I’ll be counting.” 

**10:52 AM**

It was stupid to take the alley way, but it was a shortcut where I was trying to go. It would save me time, and keep my dad from having an aneurysm if I took too long. But it still proved to be a mistake, nonetheless. I wasn’t sure why I didn’t see it coming, or hear it for that matter, but the rough hand that clamped over my mouth, dragging me back, deeper into the alley. Another hand grabbed my arm, clamping something around my wrist before I could even think to use the Aether. Fire shot up my arm and through my bloodstream, making me scream out in pain. My wallet and phone hit the ground as I struggled, my struggles slowly getting weaker and weaker as the fire spread, intensifying. I already knew I was screwed, so I gave into the darkness, my body falling limp. 

**3RD POV: 10:53 AM**

Tony had been going over the blueprint for the car when JARVIS interrupted him. 

_ “Mr. Stark, I am picking up distress signals from Skye.”  _

“Bring up the chart.” A  chart of Skye’s vital signs popped up on his tablet. 

_ “Her heart rate is startlingly high, as well as body temperature and - it appears she has gone back to normal, sir.”  _

Tony watched the vitals return to an abnormally low place for her. “JARVIS, pull up all  security camera footage from next door.” 

_ “It appears all security cameras are offline.”  _

“Shit.” He breathed, jumping from his set. “JARVIS, ready the Mark 43. It’s time we take a little test drive.” 

**11:00 AM**

Tony landed in the alley where Skye’s GPS signal was coming from. Her wallet was there, as well as her phone, but there was no sign of her. He bent down, picking up both. 

“JARVIS, scan the area.” 

_ “No sign of her heat signature.”  _

“Come on, baby. Where are you?” 

He turned, spotting tire tracks on the ground. “JARVIS, get a scan of those tracks. See what you can come up with.” 

**11:13 AM**

Tony paced the living room, his phone against his ear. He’d tried twice now, but still wasn’t getting an answer. 

“Come on. I’ll hunt you down if you don’t pick up.” 

_ ‘Hello?’  _

“Cap? It’s Tony. I need your help.” 

_ ‘What is it? What’s wrong?’  _

“Skye.” 

_ ‘I’m not going to return to New York just to see her. She made her choice.’  _

“Okay, if there weren’t more pressing matters at hand, I’d give you a long angry father lecture on that sentence, but that’s not why I called. It’s HYDRA. They took Skye.” 

**SKYE POV: 3:46 PM**

I felt sick to my stomach when I woke up. The white walls around me were blinding as the fluorescent lights reflected off them. I rubbed my eyes, spotting the metal cuff around my right wrist. I pulled at it, hissing in pain as it dug in further every time I tried to get it off. 

“Do you like it?” A voice asked, the door to the room closing. I hadn’t even noticed it had opened. “We started working on it after Greenwich. Well, SHIELD did, but we took over from there.” 

“W-what?” I asked, my voice hoarse from not being used. 

He chuckled. “SHIELD always had a way of restraining those on its Index. Ways to insure their freaks didn’t get too out of hand. Eliminate possible threatening aspects of unique individuals. And they needed a way to control your...capabilities.” 

“What...what is it?” 

“It releases several doses of arsenic into your bloodstream every hour. We wanted to use botulinum, but they deemed that too risky and used arsenic instead. It forces your powers to concentrate on keeping you alive, inhibiting you from using your powers outside of an emergency.” He moved closer to me, squatting down so we were eye to eye. He gripped my chin between his fingers, looking me over. “Making you entirely powerless.” 

“What do you want?” I asked, jerking away from him. 

He stood up, moving over towards the door. “Information. We’re missing something of ours, and we heard you had a little run-in with him. Perhaps you know of whom I speak.” 

I pretended to think for a moment. “Can’t imagine I would.” 

He chuckled, opening the door. “You will before the end.” 

**11:46 PM**

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been in the room. There was no clock, no window, no sign of life. I’d been stuck in there, laying on the floor, staring up at the white ceiling. I’d tried to get the cuff of, but it seemed like the more I tried, the harder it gripped on. I finally gave up, instead focusing on counting the tiles on the ceiling. 

**12:02 AM**

The door finally hissed open, two men in black fatigues entering. The walked over to me, grabbing on to my arms. They yanked me to my feet, dragging me behind them. They didn’t say anything, just dragged me down a long hallway before turning left. I tried to memorize the direction they went, but all of the halls looked the same. 

They finally came to a set of double doors, something that looked suspiciously like an operating room entrance. The doors opened and they dragged me into the room, the man that had spoken to me earlier standing in the center of the room. The two men dragged me over to him, forcing me on my knees in front of him. 

“Are you going to tell us now?” 

“What? You thought boring me out of my mind would work?” 

“No, perhaps it didn’t.” Another guard handed him what looked like a police baton. He pressed a button and it sparked to life, electricity flowing along the length. “But maybe this will.” 

**12:50 AM**

My body ached, my muscles screaming in protest as they moved. Even breathing hurt, but I refused to scream, refused to give them that much satisfaction. I landed on my side, my body curling into a fetal position as best it could. 

“Remembering now?” 

“Is that the best you’ve got?” I gasped out, glaring up at him.

“You are tougher than we anticipated, Miss Stark. Perhaps we should do this the old fashioned way.” 

He stepped away from me, nodding at the two guards who were by my sides. I didn’t have time to process what that nod meant when I was yanked back onto my knees, a fist colliding with my face. 

**3:45 AM**

They had left me alone in the room, but it wasn’t like it mattered much. I was bruised, my ribs aching with every inhale. Blood was dripping down my face, pooling in my mouth. Nothing was broken yet, aside from maybe my ribs. They’d left me alone for a few hours. I knew it was fruitless to try to escape. I could barely move as it was, let alone fight a dozen, maybe more guards. Especially without the Aether helping me. I could feel it working still, fighting the poison that was continuously being pumped into my bloodstream. 

**5:33 AM**

“Are you ready to talk?” 

“Screw you.” 

“That can be arranged.” 

I shivered in disgust. “Pervert.” I spat, blood dripping to the floor in the pool that had begun to form under my mouth. 

“Says the girl who goes to bed with a 95 year old man.” 

I groaned. “Not you too.” 

I tried to get up, but a boot pushed me back to the ground, making me whine in pain. 

“All we want is the location of the Winter Soldier. Then you can go home, back to your lover.” 

“I don’t know where he is. I already told you. Even if I did I wouldn’t tell you.” 

He chuckled, turning to one of the guards. “Bring it in. This one’s a tough nut to crack.” 

**PRESENT TIME**

I was yanked from the water and dropped very unceremoniously on the tile floor. My body ached in protest as it curled in slightly on itself, until the aching in my ribs stopped it. I heard the click of a gun and a breath hitch. 

“Captain America. Lovely of you to join us.” 

I felt a body squat down behind mine, the wet hair being brushed from my face. “There. Now you can see the look on their faces when I rip what they love away from them.” 

I blinked the water from my eyes, seeing my dad and Steve standing in the doorway. I wanted to call out to them, to tell them I was alright, but I couldn’t find my voice. It was lost as my lungs breathed in air freely. 

“Now, I just have one simple request. Tell me where the Winter Soldier is, and all three of you can walk out of here and go back to being a happy family.” 

“I don’t know where he is.” Steve said. “And if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.” 

The man chuckled, looking down at me, the gun pointed at my head. “So that’s where you got that line from.” He looked back up at Steve and my dad. “Unfortunately, that was not the answer I was looking for. Now you can spend the rest of your days regretting your answer.” 

And then the gun went off. 


	87. Angry Father Lecture

_ “He shot her in the head.”  _

_ “We need to stabilize her until we get to the tower.”  _

_ “She’s losing a lot of blood.”  _

_ “Tony, get us back as fast as possible.”  _

_ “We need to get the bullet out so she can start healing.”  _

_ “Put pressure there, Cap.”  _

_ “Hang on, baby. You’re gonna be okay.”  _

_ “What is that thing?”  _

_ “Why isn’t she healing?”  _

_ “We need to get it off her. Now.”  _

Voices were floating around me. I could hear them, feel them, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t open my eyes. My body was unconscious, but my mind wasn’t. My mind was reeling, fighting the toxins still invading my system, while trying to heal by battered and bruised body. The Aether was going into overdrive, trying to keep me alive. 

I could feel the pain, but I couldn’t do anything about it. Not even cry out, tell them it hurts. Tell them that I was still very aware. That I could hear them. 

_ “Tony, move faster.”  _

_ “I don’t want to cut her arm off.”  _

_ “She’s declining. Where’s the adrenaline shot?” _

_ “Skye, you gotta stay with me here.”  _

It was like a dam had been broken, the Aether being released from its confines. It flooded my body, my mind finally able to relax, letting me drift off into black nothingness. 

**3RD POV**

Steve felt his heart stop when the gun was fired. He snapped back in a second, his shield leaving his hand before he even realized what had happened. He didn’t even bother looking at his target, his body already running towards Skye. 

“No, no, no.” He said, kneeling down next to her. He moved his hand under her head. Her hair was wet, but it was cold, not the warm, stickiness of blood. “The bullet didn’t go all the way through.” He said, looking back at Tony. 

“Banner’s on standby in the jet. We need to get out of here now before the feds show up.” 

Steve scooped Skye’s limp body in his arms, holding her close as he and Tony left the building, his sensitive ears picking up sirens in the distance. 

They made it to the roof to the jet, Tony already getting it fired up. Steve rushed in, laying Skye down on the makeshift exam table. 

“What happened?” Bruce asked, already going into doctor mode. 

“He shot her in the head. The bastard shot her.” Steve said, having to take a step back to calm himself down. 

Bruce gave her a quick once over, going off of what he could see on the outside. “We need to stabilize her until we get to the tower.” He opened up the first aid kit he’d grabbed from his lab. 

“She’s losing a lot of blood.” Steve said, standing by her head. 

“Tony, get us back as fast as possible.” Bruce said, digging around in the first aid kit.

“I’m going as fast as this jet will.” 

“Cap, help me move her on her side.” Bruce said. 

Bruce and Steve moved Skye on her side, revealing the bullet wound in the side of her head. Bruce pulled a pair of forceps and gauze from the first aid kit. 

“We need to get that bullet out so she can start healing.” Bruce wiped away as much blood as he could before holding her hair back. “Cap, hold her down in case she starts moving.” Bruce reached in with the forceps, grasping on to the bullet. Skye didn’t even flinch, which worried him. He dropped the bullet on a piece of gauze, covering the hole with another piece. “Put pressure there, Cap.” He said, moving aside so Steve could put pressure over the wound. 

Tony got them to New York as quick as possible, landing the quinjet on the tower. 

He was at Skye’s side in an instant, leaving JARVIS to finish things with the jet. “Hang on baby, you’re gonna be okay.” He murmured as he, Steve and Bruce moved Skye to a gurney. 

Maria Hill spoke to Steve as Bruce and Tony rushed Skye to the lab. 

“It was definitely HYDRA.” Steve said, stepping on to the elevator when it returned to the dock. “They wanted to know where the Winter Soldier was.” 

“CIA cleared it out. They’ll get one of them to talk and spill where the rest of HYDRA are hiding. Are you gonna stay?” 

“Yeah. I just want to make sure she’ll be okay. Sam’s got things covered in Ohio for now.” 

Maria smiled to herself, knowing Steve still had feelings for Skye, even if he didn’t want to admit it. 

Back in the lab, Bruce was hooking Skye up to several machines, trying to figure out everything that was wrong in a short matter of time. 

“What is that thing?” He asked as Tony studied the cuff on her arm. 

“More importantly, why isn’t she healing?” Tony asked. 

Bruce took a blood sample, getting immediate results back. “Arsenic poisoning?” He frowned, getting the hologram of Skye’s anatomy up. “It’s coming from that thing.” Bruce looked down at it, then back to Tony. “We need to get it off her. Now.” 

Tony studied the device. “JARVIS, find me an entry point.” 

_ “It seems it is impenetrable without a key.”  _

“Well, where there is a keyhole.” He said, grabbing a laser from one of the tables. “There is a weak spot.” 

Tony went to work, trying to break through the cuff while Bruce worked on trying to stabilize Skye. He plugged the bullet wound with gauze, not wanting to stitch it up in case she started healing. He wrapped her ribs after making sure she wasn’t bleeding internally. He reset her nose, plugging it with gauze to stop the bleeding. The machines started beeping, drawing his attention away from her. 

“Tony, move faster.” He said, watching the Aether move from her brain, flooding her body as the arsenic count went up. 

“I don’t want to cut her arm off.” But he was panicking as the beeping intensified. 

“She’s declining. Where’s the adrenaline shot?” 

“Skye, you gotta stay with me here.” Tony said, finally breaking the cuff off. 

He felt sick as he saw the needle points that had been shoved in her skin. Her arm was red and raw where it had been, and he could count the needle holes in her skin. The machines beeped erratically for a few more seconds before they calmed down, Skye’s vitals slowly returning to normal.

Both Bruce and Tony breathed a sigh of relief, watching as color returned to her skin, some of the lighter bruises turning yellow before disappearing. The Aether worked its way through her body, slowly healing all of her ailments. 

Tony leaned against the table, shaking his head, a laugh leaving his lips. “What was I just saying about locking you up and never letting you leave the tower again.” He brushed some of the hair away from her face, leaning down to kiss her forehead before turning away. “I’ve got to go call Pepper before she has an aneurism.” 

Tony passed Steve on his way from the lab, not giving the soldier a second look. Steve knew he would take Skye’s side on this, and he did regret what he said on the phone, but he was also hurt, and mad and a lot of things at the moment. 

“How is she?” He asked, moving to stand by Skye’s side. 

“She’s stabilized. The Aether’s doing its job, healing her. They really put her through the ringer.” 

“It looks like it.” 

Steve had seen what she looked like when she’d been lying on the floor at the mercy of a madman with a gun. There was no fear in her eyes when she’d looked at him. Maybe she knew she’d be okay. She might have known the whole thing was going to happen. Or maybe not. It was difficult to tell. But he couldn’t deny how he felt when he’d held her limp form in his arms. The panic that set in when the gun went off. He wasn’t even sure when he’d grabbed his shield. His entire focus had been on saving her. So much so he went on autopilot. 

He wanted to reach out and take her hand. Hold it until she woke up, but he didn’t. She hadn’t been there when he’d been in this position. She’d left him with nothing more than a note. It had hurt, not seeing her when he woke up. It hurt even worse when Sam had handed him the note. But she had said she still loved him. 

Steve shook his head, taking a step back from the table. “I should get back to Sam.” He said, looking at Skye one last time. “Dr. Banner.” He nodded to Bruce. 

“Captain.” Dr. Banner said, watching him leave the lab. 

Steve was lost in his thoughts as he made his way towards the balcony to give Sam a call. 

_ ‘Hello?’  _

“Hey Sam, it’s Steve.” 

_ ‘Hey man. How is everything up there?’  _

“We found her. CIA swept through after us, got all of HYDRA’s goons.” 

_ ‘And Skye?’  _

“Beat up, but she’ll be okay.” 

_ ‘What did they want her for anyways?’  _

“They were looking for Bucky. How’s everything on your end?” 

_ ‘No sign of him yet. The trail’s going cold. I’ll probably head back to D.C. here soon, see if I can find any other leads.’  _

“Great. I’ll meet you there.” 

_ ‘Hold on there. Why don’t you stay in New York? If any of the HYDRA agents squeal, they could need you right away. It would be easier somewhere close.’  _

Steve sighed. He knew Sam was right, but it would be hard. “You’re right. I’ll stay here for a while.” 

_ ‘I’m fine here on my own. I’ll call you if I find anything. Or anyone.’  _

“Thanks, Sam.” 

“You know, part of me wants to punch you off the side of the tower.” Tony said after Steve hung up the phone. “But another part of me knows Skye would hate me forever if I did that.” 

Steve huffed, turning to lean on the balcony. “She’d probably help you if she could.” 

Tony had to keep from slamming his head down on the railing. “You haven’t seen her in two months. You don’t know what choosing to leave you did to her.” 

“Then why did she do it?” 

“Because she was scared. How many times did you two almost get killed in a three day timespan? Then she watched you get nearly pummeled to death by a man that everyone thought was dead, who threw her out of a helicarrier. She’s not a soldier. She’s not a hero. She doesn’t get almost blown up several times, hunted down, beat up, shot at almost kidnapped and experimented on on a weekly basis. Considering what she was dragged through, I’m surprised she’s kept it together as much as she has. She left you, because she knew if she stayed with you, it would be dangerous. She’d be putting herself on the line again, a line that was breached just over a day ago. She needed space. She needed to think, to clear her head before she did something irrational.” Steve opened his mouth to say something but Tony interrupted him. “And don’t you say she doesn’t miss you. She hardly sleeps. She sits on this balcony every morning, rain or shine, watching the city until I have to drag her inside. She doesn’t eat unless I literally force food down her throat. The smallest things will set her off and she’ll end up crying out of grief because she misses you. I can’t even let her control the water temperature in the shower because she’s too numb to tell hot from cold.” 

“What was I supposed to do? She left me, and I was hurt. Angry even.” 

“And so was she. She regretted her decision the second we landed at JFK. She called herself a coward for not going with you to look for Bucky.” 

“She’s not a coward.” Steve murmured. 

“That’s what I told her. Steve, she loves you. I may not feel the same, but I’ve seen how much she’s changed since she’s been with you. How much you’ve both changed. How good you’ve been for each other. She did what she felt was right at the time. She’s a kid. She’s going to make mistakes. We just have to be there for her when she realises it. Now get your act together and stop moping like some sad broken hearted teenager. Steve, be a man and get in there before I call Uncle Thor and have him smack some sense into you with his hammer.” 

Steve smiled a little. “Is that your angry father lecture?” 

“Part of it. I also had some yelling and punches in there, but I decided to leave those out for the sake of my daughter whom I love dearly and if you put her through something like this again, I will not hesitate to throw you over the side of this tower and watch you until you hit the ground.” 

“I get it. I was the coward. I should have called or something. Talked to her before making assumptions.” Steve shook his head. “I don’t blame her for leaving. I wanted her safe, away from me, but now I know that’s worse than knowing she’s beside me and safe.” He sighed. “I’m so stupid.” 

“No, just inexperienced with this whole love thing. I know, I’m the last person you would expect to be lecturing on love, but I do have some experience in that department. I loved her mother. I love Pepper. Trust me, people do stupid things for love. Including leaving because they think it’s the right thing. Sometimes it is, and other times it isn’t. But love also needs forgiveness.” 

“‘Love keeps no records of wrongs.’ Yeah. I know that verse. My mom used to keep it hanging on the wall in our kitchen.” Steve said smiling. He turned to Tony, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Thanks. Your lecture was very enlightening.” 

“Well,” Tony said, placing his hand on Steve’s shoulder, mirroring his action. “I can be heartfelt and serious when it comes to someone I love dearly. You’re not alone, Steve. I know her better than anyone.” 

“I know. And if I hurt her, you’ll pitch me off the side of the tower.” 

“See, you’re getting it. But I am serious. Hurt her, and you’ll find out what it’s like to fly.” 


	88. Reconciliation

**SKYE** **POV**

My head was pounding slightly as I woke up, squinting from the bright lights shining in my eyes. I rubbed my face, groaning slightly as I moved, my muscles tense from being still for so long. 

“Hey.” A soft voice said and my head snapped to the side, making me blink away the dizziness that followed from my quick movement. I stared at him, my mind going blank for a moment as he smiled softly at me. “How do you feel.” He asked, putting the book he was reading on the nighstand.

_ Great. Fantastic even, now that you’re here.  _ But I couldn’t say anything, so I just stared at him with a deer in the headlights look. 

His smile faded and he frowned. “You’re not in pain, are you? Because if you are I can go get Dr. Banner-” I caught his hand as he stood, stopping his movements. He looked back to me, concern on his face. 

“I’m fine, you worry-wart.”I groaned, my voice hoarse from not being used. I let go of his hand, tugging the blankets up around me further. “What are you doing here?” 

“I wanted to make sure you were okay. And your dad and I had a chat. Well, it’s more like he gave me a lecture, but I decided to stay. Sam said he’d be okay on his own.” 

I smiled a little at him, but my face fell. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for leaving, for just disappearing. I was...I was just...” 

“You were scared. And you had every right to be. You were dragged into something you shouldn’t have ever been involved with. But I’ve done a lot of thinking while you were asleep.” I felt my heartbeat pick up, a nervous sweat start to form. He took a breath, shaking his head. “I don’t blame you for what you did. If I had been in your position, I would have done the same thing. What your dad said really resonated with me. We all make mistakes. ‘Love is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs.’” He shook his head, looking down at the floor. “I should have called. Something.” 

I reached forward, taking the hand that was sitting on the edge of my bed. His calloused, warm fingers wrapped around mine, squeezing protectively. “It’s okay. We both made mistakes. We’d been hurt, and we needed some time to heal.” I pulled his hand closer to my chest. “How’s the search for Bucky going?” 

“A whole lot of cold trails.” 

“Well, as we just witnessed, HYDRA’s not any closer to finding him than you are. Wherever he is, he really doesn’t want to be found.” 

“I know. I just wish he wasn’t hiding.” 

I squeezed his hand. “Don’t worry. You’ll find him eventually. There’s only so many places a guy with a metal arm can hide.” 

Steve smiled a little, squeezing my hand back. He leaned forward, brushing the hair from my face. “I’m just happy you’re alright.” 

Steve stayed in New York at the tower part time, the other part travelling with Sam whenever he heard wind of a lead. I stayed in New York, letting Steve search for Bucky on his own. A little distance was doing us good. I helped my dad work on fixing and upgrading the car while Steve was gone. My dad would occasionally fly to California to be with Pepper, leaving me alone in the tower. Like this week. 

Steve had left the day before yesterday, and my dad had left last night, leaving me alone. I spent most of my time on the couch, watching Disney movies and eating Chinese takeout. I was halfway through Snow White when the elevator dinged, grabbing my attention. 

I paused the movie, sitting up when Steve walked in, looking tired and a little battered. “Hey. You’re back early.” 

He sank down on the couch next to me, rubbing his face. “Yeah. We, uh, hit a roadblock.”  

“Did that roadblock happen to have five letters, and be a mythical creature as well?” 

Steve nodded, tipping his head back. I curled into his side, resting my head on his chest. “It’s okay. You’ll find him.” 

His arm wrapped around my back, his thumb stroking my arm. “I know. I just wish we would actually catch wind of something that’s not a complete dead end.” 

“You will. Just give it time. For now just sit here and let me watch Snow White with someone who actually saw it when it first came out.” 

I was pretty sure I fell asleep at one point, curled against Steve’s warmth. I woke up when he was carrying me to my room. He tucked me in, making sure I was comfortable before turning to walk away. I grabbed his hand, stopping his movements. 

“Stay.” I murmured, tugging him down towards the bed. 

He let go of my hand, unbuttoning his dress shirt, stripping out of his pants and shoes before sliding under the covers with me. I curled up against his warmth, tucking my head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly. 

I woke up sometime in the middle of the night as Steve jerked away from me. I scanned the room for any sign of an intruder, but didn’t see anything. A whimper from Steve brought my attention back to him. I flipped on the lamp beside the bed, my eyes falling back to Steve. He jerked around, his brow furrowed, a thin layer of sweat on his brow. I made myself as small as possible, pulling my knees to my chest as I faced him, having to dodge flying limbs a couple times. 

“Steve.” I said calmly, hesitantly reaching a hand out towards him. 

I touched his arm, tracing the veins on the underside of his forearm. Something passed between us then, the glowing red energy of the Aether flowing down my arm to where my fingers were against his skin, dropping down to their tips before passing to him. I watched the red energy travel up his arm before disappearing under his shirt, then reappearing on his neck, travelling upwards. 

His breathing slowed, his face relaxing from its frown. His once tense muscles relaxed as he was pulled from whatever nightmare it was that had gripped him. I continued to trace lines on his skin until his hand grabbed my forearm, stopping my movements. 

“Tickles.” He murmured drowsily. 

“Sorry.” I whispered, moving my hand before laying down next to him. 

He rolled over, shuffling down slightly so his head was laying on my chest, his arm wrapping around my stomach. “Didn’t say you had to stop.” He muttered, his words slurring as he fell back asleep. 

I ran my fingers through his hair, reaching slightly to turn the lamp off before playing with his hair, waiting until his breathing evened out again before closing my eyes, drifting off as well. 

“What are you reading?” Steve asked when he woke up. 

I had been up for a couple hours, but Steve was still tucked against my chest, holding onto me like an octopus. So I grabbed the book that he’d put on the nightstand last night, picking up where he left off. 

“The Great Gatsby.” I said, looking down at him. He had turned his head so he was looking up at me, his chin resting on my chest. 

He rolled onto his stomach, leaning over me slightly on his elbow. He took the book from my hands, marking my page before setting down beside me.  “‘I fell in love with her courage, her sincerity, and her flaming self respect. And it's these things I'd believe in, even if the whole world indulged in wild suspicions that she wasn't all she should be. I love her and it is the beginning of everything.’”

I smiled up at him, tracing his cheekbone with my thumb. “That’s very romantic. Did you memorize that, or did you just pull it up out of thin air?” 

He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. “Over 70 years and I can still quote F. Scott Fitzgerald.” 

“That’s impressive for a senior citizen.” 

“Senior citizen, huh?” 

I laughed as he wrapped his arms tighter around me, rolling us over so I was laying on his chest. He leaned up, capturing my lips with his. I melted into the kiss, relaxing against him. 

“Could a senior citizen do that?” He asked, breaking away for a moment. 

“Hmm I suppose so.” 

“Then maybe I just need to prove it to you in a different way, then.” 

 


	89. Back in the Swing Of Things

Steve’s strong arms caged me in, his elbows by my shoulders as he held himself up. His eyes were shut, mouth parted as breathy moans escaped his lips. His hips were slowly rolling against mine, my knees framing his waist, fingers tracing the hard muscle of his back. His eyes fluttered open, blue meeting brown as he stared down at me. I bit my lip, a whine leaving my mouth as he gave a particularly hard thrust. 

“Oh, fuck.” I breathed, my head tilting back as he snapped his hips against mine again. 

He leaned down, his teeth nipping at my neck as he continued the slow, but deliberate pace. I dug my nails into his back as he shifted on top of me, his pelvis rubbing against my clit. 

“If you don’t hurry up, I’m gonna have to finish this myself.” I teased, running my fingers along his spine. 

“You sure about that, baby girl?” He groaned, stilling as he leaned up on his elbows again.    
“Show me what you got, Cap.” I said, tracing my fingers down his abs. “I’ll be very disappointed in you if I can still walk when you’re done.” I wrapped my legs around his waist, pushing him further into me. 

“Then you better hang on, doll.” He said, his arms wrapping around my back, pulling me tighter against him. “This ride’s about to get a little rough.” 

I gripped his back, my legs tight around his waist as he pounded into me. The bed was creaking under the strain of our movements, but neither of us cared. We were far too lost in each other. Our moans and cries of pleasure filled the room, and I was grateful for the soundproofing. Of course my dad had an idea of what we’d disappeared off to do, but that was different than him actually having to hear it. 

I came with a cry, clutching on to Steve for dear life. He followed me over the cliff, his arms holding my shaking body as his movements slowed, thrusting lazily as we came down from our highs. 

We laid there, neither of us moving to separate ourselves. The sweat had started to dry, sticky on our skin, our bodies stuck together where they touched. The two months we were apart was stressful for the both of us. It was nearing the end of summer now, and we had yet to hear anything from the CIA about HYDRA. Steve was growing antsy, wanting to return to his search for Bucky, but he didn’t want to leave me. That, and Sam was adamant on keeping him in New York with me. 

Steve’s lips were gentle on my skin as they traced along my shoulder to my neck. “You okay, doll?” He murmured against my ear, his hips shifting to pull his soft member from my core. 

“Mmm.” I hummed, carding my fingers through his hair. “Better than okay.” 

He slowly moved, his arms sliding from behind my back, carefully lowering me the couple inches on to the mattress. His hands unwound my legs from around his waist as he sat back on his knees, his hands running down my legs to my ankles before parting them, placing my feet down on the mattress. 

I watched, my eyes hooded as Steve moved between my legs, calloused fingers stroking the inside of my thighs, before parting my folds, his mouth dipping down to lick a stripe up my center.

“Another round already?” I asked. 

“You told me you’d be disappointed if you could still walk after we were done.” He sucked my clit into his mouth, my back arching off the bed. “And we’re just getting started.” 

I wasn’t sure how long we’d rolled around in the sheets for, but it was approaching nightfall when we finally got out of the shower, my legs still shaking underneath me as Steve toweled me off, letting me use his shoulders as a support as I pulled on my clothes. I hobbled out of the bathroom, moving to stand by the windows, looking out at the setting sun. Steve came up behind me, his warmth enveloping me as he pressed his chest to my back, arms wrapping tightly around me. 

“So did I fulfill your desires?” He breathed, resting his chin on my shoulder. “Or are you disappointed?” 

“I could never be disappointed in you.” I said, tilting my head so it leaned against his. 

“Don't’ say that just yet.” 

“Steve, I mean it.” I said, turning around in his arms. “You’re more than any girl could ever look for in a guy.” 

He smiled down at me, leaning in to press a soft kiss to my forehead. “Let’s go get some dinner.” 

My dad and Dr. Banner were sitting across from each other deep in a discussion when Steve and I entered the kitchen. Neither of them paid us any mind as I grabbed the leftover pizza from the fridge. I grabbed a slice, eating it cold as Steve and I sat at the opposite end of the table from my dad. I had to stifle a groan as I sat down in the chair, already feeling sore from our...activities earlier. Thankfully my mouth was full of pizza, and my dad was currently lost in a discussion about neurons and electrodes. I leaned against Steve, flipping through a tabloid page on the internet, reading, but not really comprehending anything. There was a lot on there about SHIELD and everything that had been hidden from civilians. 

Steve and I polished off the leftover pizza quickly, my dad and Dr. Banner still lost in their discussion. I went to get up when I suddenly felt dizzy, my vision swimming as a nauseous feeling came over me. I gripped on to the table, my breath hitching as I tried to fight the oncoming storm that was brewing. My legs gave out from under me, and my vision went dark before I even hit the floor. 

**3RD POV**

Steve was half distracted by Tony and Bruce’s conversation, so much so he didn’t notice Skye until she was already collapsing. He heard her sharp inhale, her breath hitching, and she was already falling to the floor by the time he turned around. He tried to catch her, but all he succeeded in doing was pushing the chair out of her way so she wouldn’t catch that on her way down. 

Steve was by her side in an instant, falling to his knees beside her as he tried to calm her shaking form. Both Bruce and Tony were by his side in an instant, but they found they couldn’t get closer than three feet. Tony held his hand out, the red bubble of the Aether getting darker the closer he got. But what shocked him was that it hadn’t pushed Steve away. Steve was inside the bubble with Skye, holding her shaking form, trying to soothe her, bring her back from whatever crevice she had been pulled into. 

“Skye, Skye you’re okay.” He said, smoothing his hand over her hair. “Come back to me, doll.” 

Her body spasmed one last time before she jerked awake, her eyes snapping open breaths coming in gasps. Her hand fisted Steve’s shirt, clutching to it tightly. Her eyes were wide, unfocused as she stared past Steve at the ceiling. 

“Skye?” Steve asked, trying to break her out of whatever daze she was in. 

Skye took a shuddering breath in before she screamed. 

 


	90. Damage Is Done

Steve rushed Skye into the lab, Tony and Bruce following behind him. He tried to place Skye on the exam table, but her grip on his shirt was tight. 

“JARVIS, get me a scan.” 

Steve could feel Skye’s skin getting warmer and warmer, sweat starting to form on her skin. Her breaths were frantic, her heartbeat erratic. Her eyes were distant, like she was staring at something he couldn’t see. 

“Skye, baby girl, you gotta calm down. You gotta breathe.” 

“Her heart rate is dangerously high.” Bruce, said, watching as her vitals appeared on the screen. “So’s her blood pressure.” 

“What about her brain?” Tony asked, facing the screen as well. 

“It’s...” Bruce trailed off as he stared at the scan of her brain. 

“What? What is it?” Steve asked, still clutching Skye against his chest. 

“Is it the Aether?” Tony asked. 

“It’s definitely in there...but...there’s something else.” 

“What do you mean?” Tony asked, his fists clenched. 

“There’s something else inside her brain...it’s almost like it’s trying to attack her.” 

“Steve...” Skye whimpered, almost so quietly he didn’t hear her over the beeping machines. “Steve, no.” 

“I’m here, Skye.” Steve said, brushing her hair back from her sweaty forehead. 

“Steve...don’t leave me.” 

“I’m not going anywhere.” 

“Steve...I killed them.” She whispered, gaining the attention of the other two men in the room. 

“Skye...who did you kill?” Steve asked. 

Skye let out a sob, her fist hitting Steve’s chest, but he didn’t even feel it. “I killed them! It’s my fault!” She cried. “It’s my fault you’re all dead!” She placed a hand on Steve’s cheek, Steve gasping out in pain for a moment before his eyes clamped shut, his body hunching over Skye. 

Images flashed in front of his eyes, images of him with Skye, what happened in New York, D.C., then something else. Something far worse. 

He was standing on what looked like a giant meteor, staring at the dead bodies of his teammates around him. His brow furrowed, staring at their lifeless bodies, all of their eyes looking at him. He went to take a step forward, but his foot hit something, and he looked down, seeing his shield broken in half.

It felt like he’d been punched in the stomach, and the scene in front of him changed. It was like he was watching his life from a bystander’s point of view. Him, and the rest of the Avengers were fighting, the world around him in chaos. He watched helplessly as the future version of himself was impaled by a spear, his body falling to the ground. He heard a scream, Skye running past him towards his fallen body. She fell to the ground next to him, but he knew it was too late, from the look on her face. He watched as she screamed in agony, unaware of the figure approaching her from behind.

Her scream was cut short when a spear pierced through her chest. She choked, blood pouring from her mouth as the Aether was ripped from her body. She fell forward, onto his chest as her body went still, the light leaving her eyes as she stared out across the stars. 

_ 'You will all die in the end.' _ A deep voice said before he was back in the lab, his body hunched over Skye. 

He breathed shakily, letting the hands pull him upright, as he detached himself from Skye, taking a few steps back. It took him a moment to realize Tony was talking to him, his vision swimming, brain hazy from what he’d just witnessed. 

“Hey, you okay, Cap?” Tony asked, placing a hand on Steve’s shoulder. 

Steve shook his head slightly, breaking him out of the daze he’d been in. “What just happened?” He asked. 

“That’s what we were wondering.” Bruce said, running a scanner over the now still Skye. 

Steve shook his head again, trying to wrap his mind around what he’d just witnessed. “I saw something. It...it was like she was showing me...we were dead. All of us. We...we’d been fighting, and none of us made it.” 

“Everything’s back to normal.” Bruce said, checking Skye’s vitals. “And whatever it was that was attacking her brain is gone.” 

“There was something attacking her brain?” Steve asked, moving back to Skye’s side. 

“Yeah. But, I’m not sure what it was exactly.” Bruce said. 

“What did it look like?” 

“It was black. Like a black mass trying to get inside her occipital lobe.” 

Tony shook his head, running a hand through his hair. “This is twice now that this has happened. I can’t just sit by and watch my daughter be attacked by some black mass trying to get into her brain.” Tony sighed. “I’m going to make a call.” He said, leaving the lab. 

He went up to the roof of the tower, staring up at the night sky. He felt almost ridiculous doing this, but Skye said it worked. He never believed in something like this before. But now...there were such things as aliens, he’d almost married a princess of an alien kingdom, his daughter was host to some alien power, and some unknown black mass was trying to reach her, and said alien power was trying to keep it out. 

“Heimdall...uh, Skye said this would work, but...I really need to talk to Thor.” He felt stupid. How did he know this Heimdall would listen to him. 

He sat on the roof, waiting for a few minutes. He had almost given up when light shot out of the sky, dropping down to the top of the tower. Thor appeared in front of him when the light faded. He was dressed for battle, his hammer in his hand. 

“Man of Iron, what is the matter?” He asked, lumbering towards his teammate. 

“It’s Skye. Something’s happened, and I need your help.” 

Tony explained what had happened as he led Thor down to the lab. Steve was still there, Skye not having moved from her spot. One would have assumed she was asleep, if they hadn’t witnessed what had transpired over the last hour. 

“Is there any way to get it out of her?” Tony asked, moving to stand by Steve as Thor stood across from him. 

“No.” Thor said, shaking his head, staring down at his niece. 

“There has to be some way-” 

“If we try to remove it, it will kill her. The Aether may act like a parasite, but it is much more than that. It’s drawing from her power, living off of it. It’s staked its claim, and if you remove it, she will die.” 

Tony sighed, running a hand down his face. “So we just have to sit by and watch this happen, every time this thing tries to get inside her head.” 

“The Aether is protecting her from whatever it is trying to breach her mind. Would you rather have that, or whatever it is that’s trying to do her harm?” 

Tony didn’t say anything. Thor had a point. They didn’t know what it was that was trying to get into Skye’s head, and the Aether wasn’t about to let it’s host be damaged by anything. Skye was safer with it for now, but he knew there was only so much power within her that the Aether could draw from before it killed her. 

“She’s going to die either way.” Tony said, staring down at his daughter. “Whether it’s being drawn out, or when it runs out of power to feed on.” 

“How can you say that?” Steve shouted, standing so he was toe to toe with Tony. “She’s your daughter. The least you can do is act like you care.” 

“Don’t you go there. I do care about her! You think I wanted this to happen?” 

“Then why didn’t you stop it? You have done nothing to keep her from this. She’s constantly in danger because you can’t keep yourself from making stupid decisions.” 

“Like you haven’t put her in danger too! D.C? When I had to intervene and save her from falling to her death because your ex-best friend threw her out of one, while you were too busy getting your butt kicked and almost dying.” 

“Enough.” Thor said, stepping between them, pushing both men back. “We’ve all made our mistakes here. But arguing about it will not solve anything. Skye has chosen to stay where she is instead of running away. She could have left, could have gone somewhere safe, but she stayed beside the people she cares about. Would you be arguing like this if she were awake?” Neither Tony, nor Steve could look at the demi-god. 

Their focus shifted as Skye groaned, shifting slightly on the table. Her eyes fluttered open, squinting slightly from the light over her head. Tony moved around to the other side of the table, standing opposite of Steve. 

“Skye?” He asked, reaching out hesitantly towards her. 

“Daddy?” She whispered, frowning at him. “Where are we?” 

“In the lab. You collapsed, do you remember?” 

Her frown deepened. “What lab? At Stark Industries?” 

Tony’s brow furrowed. “No, we’re at the tower. In New York.” 

“Tower? You have a tower?” 

“Yeah, princess. I built it a couple years ago. It was damaged in the attack and I had to do some updates on it-” 

“What attack? Daddy, what happened? Is everyone okay?” She asked, not having noticed the other two men in the room. 

“Yeah, everyone’s fine...you-you don’t remember?” Skye frowned, looking down at her hands. She finally noticed the other two men in the room, her eyes going wide as she slid back away from them, towards Tony. All three men felt their stomach’s drop at Skye’s next words, dread filling them, not realizing the extent of the damage until now. 

“W-Who are they?” 


	91. February 4th, 2010

"Skye, you know them." Tony said, wrapping a comforting arm around his daughter's shoulders. "It's Steve and Thor."

"Are they your friends?" Skye asked, looking back at Tony.

"Skye, what's the date?" He asked her, probably more confused than she was at that moment.

"February 4th."

"And the year?"

"2010."

All three men took a step back. Tony ran a hand down his face, trying to fight back the frustration. This wasn't Skye's fault. It was his. It was all his.

"Skye...it's August 8th, 2014. You're 21 years old, we're in New York.."

Her frown deepened, trying to process that information. "New York? Why are we in New York? What happened? Is something wrong?"

Tony sighed. "Why don't we go back to your room so you can get some rest for now. We'll talk about this later." Tony said, helping Skye from the table.

He guided her out of the lab, Skye looking back at Thor and Steve for a moment, before she turned back around, a frown on her face. They had seemed familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place where she'd seen them before.

"Daddy, who were they?" She asked him again as Tony tucked her into bed.

"We'll talk about it later. Just...get some rest for now while we try to figure out everything."

Tony left his daughter's room, walking out to the living area where Thor and Steve were standing. He sunk down on one of the couches, putting his head in his hands. He thought back to February 4th. What had happened on February 4th, 2010 that had made her go back there. She wouldn't remember him being kidnapped, or that he had the trip to Afghanistan scheduled. So what was so important about...oh. He remembered now.

**February 4th, 2010**

Sixteen year old Skye Stark was accompanying her father to a gala that night. It was a typical event, filled with deep pockets and sleazy old men. The only reason he'd brought Skye was so that she could get out of the house. She hadn't left since their trip for New Years. That, and he wanted to spend a little quality time with her. He didn't do enough of that lately, and he hated making her feel like he didn't care. He did, he just wasn't always the best at expressing that.

Skye looked nervous like she always did in large crowds, not quite having inherited her father's extroverted personality. She stuck close to him, letting him do all of the talking, not wanting to be left alone to fend for herself. But regardless of her efforts, she found herself alone at the bar while her dad went off to dance with some gold digging, soon to be disappointed one night stand. That's how these things worked anyway. Her dad was too busy chasing tail to worry about her.

"Skye Stark. What a pleasant surprise."

Skye inwardly cringed at the voice beside her, having half a mind not to turn around and acknowledge him. But she knew he wouldn't leave until she did. "Harry Osborn." She said, turning her head to face the fellow teen. "I didn't know you were coming."

"My dad decided last minute to drag me along. Looks like yours did the same."

"And yet, here we are. Alone." She said, a bitter tone to her voice.

"Well, at least my dad's not flirting with some floozy."

Skye's grip around her glass of water tightened. She was scared she'd end up throwing it at his head. She looked over to where Norman Osborn was chatting it up with some of the deepest pockets in the room. "Well, he does have that reputation."

"My dad actually has a mind to care about his company. It would be great if he'd work something out with your dad. We could go on trips together. Vacation time."

Skye had to hold in her snide remark. "Well, maybe in the future when we've taken over we can work something out." She wanted to run. Very far.

Skye didn't like the Osborn's. Neither did her father, but she always ended up with the brunt of it, having to pretend she liked them for the sake of her father, who was too enamored in a bottle blonde to really pay any mind to anything.

"Hello Skye."

"Mr. Osborn."

"Harry, why don't we go find you a classy girl to dance with."

Skye wanted to throw her glass at the back of his head as he dragged Harry off into the crowd. Norman Osborn never had anything nice to say to her. Then again, neither did Harry, but she couldn't help that. Skye was raging, her heart pounding in her ears. She always felt that way whenever she saw them. She felt like she could explode. If only she could just take him down a dark hallway and pummel his face in-

The sound of breaking glass behind her drew her from her angry inner thoughts. The entire wall of alcohol behind the bar shattered, glass and liquid falling to the ground. The entire hall stopped, everyone turning to look. Of course at first people thought it was an earthquake, but nothing else was moving. Skye stood there, staring blankly at the now empty wall. She had felt like something had left her, like a wave of energy had escaped, but she had been so mad she hadn't payed any mind to it, until the glass behind her had shattered.

She turned as the crowd went back to mingling, hushed voices slowly growing louder. No one was paying any mind to her, so she turned, heading towards the exit. She'd find her own way home.

**PRESENT**

Tony had been so lost in thought he almost hadn't realized Steve had said something.

"What was that?" Steve asked.

Tony just shook his head. He didn't-couldn't say anything. He didn't know what had happened, one second she was fine, happy, and now she didn't remember anything that had happened over the last four years. Maybe it was a good thing. Maybe this was his chance to make things right. To make sure she was safe.

"I'm sending her away." He said finally.

"What?" Steve asked, taking a step towards Steve.

"She doesn't remember anything that's happened since 2010. Which means she doesn't remember that I'm Iron Man. She doesn't even remember she has powers. Or her mother. This is a chance to make things right. To make sure she's kept safe. She doesn't remember us, so there's no way she could be used to gain information on us."

"No. Absolutely not." Steve said.

"He's right." Thor said. "What happens when she realizes the power she has? The Aether will show itself eventually, and her not knowing what it is..."

"She'd have some serious questions, and no one there who can answer them. She deserves to know. Hiding it from her will only cause more trouble in the end."

"I will return to Asgard. Ask our healers if they know a way to reverse it" Thor said walking towards the elevator.

Tony wanted to stop him, but he knew it wouldn't matter in the end. Thor would go anyways, even if he had to fight his way out. Steve sighed, sitting on the couch across from Tony. Neither of them could believe what had happened over the last couple hours.

"What do you think caused it?" Steve asked, looking down at his shoes.

Tony shrugged. "Probably the Aether. It's supposed to be protecting her. Not making her forget everything."

"What if it needed her to forget? What if...whatever it was that was attacking her had wanted to get inside her head, access her memories...what if it's a defense mechanism?"

"It's making her forget to keep her safe from whatever's trying to attack her?"

"Yeah. Maybe it won't be permanent. It's just temporary until whatever it is that's trying to attack her gives up."

"Then we wait. We tell her only the necessary things. She'll know who you are, but not what you are to her. Or that you're actually alive." Steve swallowed the lump in his throat, his muscles tensing. "And let's keep it that way for now." Steve stood, ready to pummel Tony's face in. "It would be too much to handle right now. If it's really just a defense mechanism, then it will wear off. It should wear off. Until Thor gets back, we play it safe. Keep it as ambiguous as possible. And that includes your relationship."


	92. Memories

“So he’s alive?” 

“Yeah. He’s been alive this whole time. They found him two years ago in the Arctic. Defrosted him and here he is.” 

Skye looked past Tony to Steve. His face was set in a serious look, his eyes showing little to no emotion. He looked just like she’d pictured. Except he was actually here, and not just a picture. Something flashed before her eyes, like a vision as she stared at him. They were tangled in the sheets, Steve moving against her, her head was thrown back in pleasure, arm gripping the pillow behind her head. 

Skye jerked back to reality, both men staring intently at her, a faint blush on her cheeks. “Were we dating?” She asked, looking from Tony to Steve, then back. 

“W-What makes you say that?” Tony asked, taken aback. 

“Just a feeling.” She said, shaking her head. “Anyways...so aliens are real?” 

“Yeah. Thor is technically one, and...two years ago his brother Loki tried to take over Earth.” 

“And you stopped him.” 

“Right. The team.” 

“The Avengers.” 

“I know this is a lot to take in-” Another vision flashed across her eyes. 

_ She didn't see the Chitauri until it was almost too late. It had its spear raised, ready to stab Thor in the back. _

_ "No!" She shouted, jumping in front of the spear. It ripped through her skin, the electric charges scorching muscle. _

_ "No!" Thor yelled, Steve sending the Chitauri flying back into a car. _

_ Her legs gave out under her, Thor catching her in his arms, gently lowering her to the ground. His hand cupped the back of her head, keeping her face turned towards his. _

_ "Skye, you must look at me." _

_ She stared up into his blue eyes.  _

_ "Skye is down, I repeat, Skye is down." _

_ It was quiet for a second before Steve knelt down, holding something to her ear. _

_ "Skye?" Tony’s voice crackled in her ear. _

_ "Daddy..." Her voice was weak. _

_ "I'm sorry baby. For everything. I'm a horrible father and you deserved better. I love you, Skye." _

_ She looked up to the sky as Tony flew over us towards the portal. _

_ "What are you doing?" Her voice broke. _

_ "Tell Pepper I love her." _

_ "Daddy?" There was no response on the other end. _

“You almost died.” Skye said, staring down at the table in front of her. “I...I almost died.” 

Tony swallowed thickly, turning back to stare at Steve. Steve’s eyes were on Skye as a frown formed on her features. 

“I...I’m starting to remember things. Like flashbacks. It’s-” Her face went blank, eyes unfocused. 

“Skye?” Tony asked, not even sure his daughter was breathing at that moment. “Skye?” He moved around the table, kneeling in front of her. 

She inhaled sharply, gripping his wrists as her eyes fluttered before she blinked. 

“Skye?”

“Oh, god.” She breathed, tears filling her eyes as she looked at Tony. “Oh, god, daddy.” She threw her arms around him, holding on to him tightly. 

“Oh, Skye.” He breathed, tightening his hold on her. “What’s the date today?” He asked, pulling away so he was looking at her face. 

“August 9th, 2014.” 

“Oh thank god.” He breathed, pulling her into a hug again. “You didn’t remember anything after February 4th, 2010 there for a while.” 

“I know.” She said, pulling away from him. “Dad...there’s something I need to tell you.” 

()()()()0()()()()

“So...this Thanos has been trying to get into your head?” 

“Yeah.” 

“And you’ve spoken to him before?” 

“Yes.” 

“And the Aether was protecting you from him.” 

“Yes.” Steve was quiet for a moment. “And I think he may be controlling my mother.” 

Steve’s head snapped to the side, his eyes landing on Skye. “What?” 

“My mother knew about him. What the Aether showed you...she somehow showed me it when my dad and I went the last time. I don’t know why it showed you-” 

“When you collapsed, the Aether wouldn’t let anyone but me near you. Then you just...showed me...” 

“It’s okay.” She said, cupping his cheek. “I wish I could understand this thing inside me. But it will only let me get so far.” 

Steve leaned into her hand, raising his own to cover hers. Her hand was warm on his skin, and it was like he could feel her emotions through the contact. She was confused, scared, concerned. He removed her hand, choosing to wrap his arms around her instead. 

“When you asked if we were dating...what inspired that particular question?” 

“I, uh...” She bit her lip, looking down at her feet before turning her head to press her lips against his. 

He pulled her tighter against him, raising his free hand to her chin, tilting her head so he could deepen the kiss, Skye opening herself up to him. 

“I think I get the idea.” He breathed when they broke apart, both of them breathing hard. He brushed her hair behind her ear, running his thumb over her bottom lip. “Why don’t we make that a reality?” 

 


	93. Age of Ultron: Finding Loki's Scepter

I held on to the back of Steve's motorcycle, my chest pressed against his shield as we drove through the chaos that was HYDRA. I reached out, grabbing on to one of the guards with the Aether, throwing him against a tree as Steve threw his shield in front of us, taking out several guards before he caught it as we passed by.

' _ **Hang on.'**_ I gripped him tighter as he swerved around Thor and the Hulk who were taking out one of the Jeeps. My dad flew over us as we continued to fight our way closer to the HYDRA base.

" _Shit!"_ My dad cursed over the comms.

"Language." Steve said, and I fought back the urge to laugh. It was like he didn't even realize he'd said it. "JARVIS, what's the view from upstairs?"

' _The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Strucker's technology is well beyond any other HYDRA base we've taken.'_

" _Loki's scepter must be here."_ Thor said. " _Strucker couldn't mount this defense without it. At long last."_

I grabbed two of the HYDRA guards, dragging them behind us before they went flying in different directions.

"' _At long last' is lasting a little long, boys."_ Natasha said.

" _Yeah, I think we lost the element of surprise."_ Clint said.

" _Wait a second, no one else is going to deal with the fact that Cap just said 'Language?'"_ My dad said.

"I know." Steve said, accelerating slightly as he dodged shots from the guards.

' _ **Jump.'**_ He turned slightly back to me, as he drove straight for an oncoming Jeep.

I let him go, using my foot to push off the back of the motorcycle, flipping through the air before landing, throwing all the remaining guards in the area back as Steve flipped over the front of the motorcycle, throwing it into the oncoming Jeep.

He sighed, straightening up. "It just slipped out."

' _ **You know, it's incredibly sexy when you do that.'**_ I walked past him, continuing our journey on foot.

I took out the guards in front of us, slamming them back into the surrounding trees.

' _ **And I find it incredibly sexy when you do that.'**_ I smirked, following him forward, watching his six.

' _Clint!'_ Natasha called out just seconds before something slammed into me, sending me on my back.

Steve was looking around for any sign of what had just hit us. "We have an Enhanced in the field." He said, turning back to me.

' _ **Are you okay?'**_ He offered me a hand.

' _ **Yeah. Just caught me off guard.'**_ I followed behind him as we continued towards the base.

" _Clint's hit!"_ Natasha said. " _Somebody want to deal with that bunker?"_

I followed Steve as he threw his shield, taking out a few guards as I took out the remaining ones.

"Stark, we really need to get inside."

" _I'm closing in."_

It was silent for a few moments as Steve and I drew nearer and nearer to the base, taking out guards in our way.

" _The drawbridge is down, people."_

Thor landed not far from us, electrocuting the guards nearest to him. Steve and I ran over to him as he straightened up.

"The Enhanced?" He asked.

"He's a blur." Steve said. "All the new players in we've faced, I've never seen this. In fact, I still haven't." He said, looking around.

" _Clint's hit pretty bad, guys. We're gonna need evac."_ Natasha said.

"I can get Barton to the jet." Thor said as a tank came rolling up the hill towards us, several guards following. "The sooner we're gone, the better. You and Stark secure the scepter."

"Copy that."

"Looks like they're lining up." Thor said as the guards approached us, spinning his hammer in his hand.

I took a step back as Steve turned towards him. "Well, they're excited."

Steve bent down, holding his shield as Thor hit it with his hammer, sending a shockwave down the line of guards, blowing the top off the tank.

"Find the scepter." Thor said before flying off.

" _And for gosh sake, watch your language."_ My dad's voice came over the comms.

Steve sighed. "That's not going away any time soon."

"Got yourself into that one, Cap." I said.

"Come on." He said, holding his hand out to me. "Let's get moving."

Steve and I made our way into the base.

"Anything?"

"Nothing on this level. Three upstairs, making their way in the same direction. " I said.

" _We're locked down out here."_ Natasha said.

"Then get to Banner. Time for a lullaby." Steve said, taking his helmet off. "Come on." He said, turning to me. "Let's go find Strucker."

Steve and I made our way deeper into the base, taking out one of the guards left in the base.

"Up ahead. One around the corner, and another coming up the stairs." I whispered.

Steve turned the corner, sneaking up on the guard, knocking him out before walking through the doorway.

"Baron Strucker. HYDRA's number one thug." Steve said, approaching Strucker.

"Technically, I'm a thug for SHIELD." He said as they circled one another, Steve trapping Strucker between us.

"Well, then technically you're unemployed. Where's Loki's scepter?"

Strucker sighed. "Don't worry. I know when I'm beat. You'll mention how I cooperated, I hope."

"I'll put it right under 'illegal human experimentation.' How many are there?"

"Steve!" I called, but it was too late. The second Enhanced sent him flying down the stairs.

I took a step forward, the Aether surging within me. She tried to do the same thing to me, but when her powers hit the Aether it sent both of us flying back. I hit the wall behind me, cracking the stone on impact. I hit the floor, coughing and trying to blink the spots from my vision. I shook my head, leaning up on my arms to find the other Enhanced getting up from where she'd been thrown against the wall opposite of me. She frowned at me before disappearing through the doors. Steve came back up the stairs, his eyes scanning the area.

"We have a second Enhanced. Female. Do not engage." Steve said.

Strucker was unconscious on the ground where he'd been thrown back. I rubbed my face, smearing dirt over it as Steve hauled me to my feet.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked, gripping his shoulder slightly as I steadied myself.

"Are you okay?" He asked, checking me over with my eyes.

I winced as I touched the back of my head, finding a sore spot that was wet. "I'll heal." I said, trying to hide the blood from him. I knew he probably saw, but I could already feel the Aether working the spot over, the blood stopping almost immediately. "Let's take care of Strucker and then find the scepter." I said.

"Guys, I've got Strucker." Steve said over the comms.

" _Yeah, I've got something bigger."_ My dad said.

Steve and I handed Strucker off to the police before making our way out of the base.

" _Thor, I've got eyes on the prize."_

' _ **Are you sure you're okay?'**_

I looked up at Steve. "I can't sense either of the Enhanced." I shook my head. "It's just like...they don't exist. It's almost like..."

"Like what?" Steve asked, stopping me.

It's not possible. "Nothing." I shook my head again. "Never mind. Just a stupid theory."

" _Your last theory was right."_ Natasha said over the comms. " _And you thought that one was stupid."_

I stared up at the base in front of us. Steve slipped his hand in mine, drawing my attention away from it.

' _ **Come on. Let's go home.'**_


	94. Healing Touch

The quinjet landed at the tower, Clint being rushed off by Dr. Cho and her team, Natasha and Bruce following behind. Thor took Loki’s scepter in, which left Steve, my dad and I on the jet. 

“Lab’s all set up boss.” Maria said, coming on to the jet. 

My dad turned around from the pilot’s seat. “Ohl, actually, he’s the boss.” He said, pointing at Steve. “I just pay for everything, and design everything, and make everyone look cooler.” 

“What’s the word on Strucker?” Steve asked, standing up. 

“NATO’s got him.” She said. 

“And the two Enhanced?” 

“Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Twins.” She said, showing him the tablet as they walked out of the jet. I followed behind them, listening in on their conversation. “Orphaned at 10 when a shell collapsed their apartment building. Sokovia’s had a rough history. It’s nowhere special, but it’s on the way to everywhere special.” 

“Their abilities?” Steve asked as we walked inside the tower. 

“He’s got increased metabolism and increased thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neuroelectric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation.” Both Steve and I gave her a look as we waited for the elevator. 

“He’s fast and she’s weird.” She said. 

Steve nodded. “Well, they’re gonna show up again.” 

“Agreed. File says they volunteered for Strucker’s experiments.” She said as we got on the elevator. “It’s nuts.”   
“Right. What kind of monster would let a madman scientist experiment on them to protect their country?” Steve said as he hit the button for his floor. 

“We’re not at war, Captain.” Maria said. 

“They are.” He said, right before the doors closed. 

I sighed, leaning back against the elevator railing. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” 

“Yeah.” I said, looking over at him. “I’ll feel better once I take a shower. The dried blood is starting to itch.” 

“Well, then I need to make sure you don’t injure yourself further.” 

“Mmm, are you proposing something, Captain?” I asked, wrapping my arms around his neck. 

“Just doing my civic duties.” He said, placing his hands on my waist. 

I grinned at him before leaning up to press a kiss to his lips. The doors opened to his floor, the apartment having been renovated since D.C. It was really the only place Steve had to live, so I had talked my dad into making it a little more his style. The modern furniture had been switched out, vintage items placed in their stead. The record player sat in the corner against the wall, shelves lined with books and records covered a majority of the space.    
Steve took my hand, leading me to the bedroom where a king sized bed sat in the middle of the room against the wall, a dresser sitting under the TV, a walk in closet on one wall, and a bathroom at the other. Steve led me past the bed, which was calling my name and into the bathroom. I started the shower as he worked on getting the suit off, and I worked on mine as well. I could feel Steve’s eyes on me as I unzipped the back, working the tight material off my skin. I made a show as I bent over, slipping my boots off, before slipping the suit the rest of the way off, leaving me in my bra and panties. 

I felt his breath on my back, hot skin just barely touching mine as he took my suit from my hand, sending it down with his suit to be dry cleaned. I felt his hands at my back, unhooking my bra, calloused fingers slipping the straps from my shoulders. I let it fall, kicking it out of the way. His fingers teased the skin above my panties, touch gentle as his lips found my shoulder. I moaned lightly, leaning back against him. 

“Are we going to make it to the shower?” 

He nipped my ear in response, fingers slipping under the hem of my underwear, sending them to the floor as well. I kicked them off, leaning over to test the water in the shower, giving him a nice view as I did so. I heard his light groan, his eyes on me as I stepped in. 

“Are you going to join me?” I asked, peeking my head around the door. 

He smiled, shaking his head before dropping his briefs, following me in. 

I let the water flow over me, turning red as it washed the blood from my hair. 

“I hate seeing that.” Steve said, blocking the water with his body as he grabbed the shampoo. 

He lathered it up, his fingers working through my hair, massaging my scalp. I tilted my head back a little, moaning contently as he rubbed circles on my scalp with his fingers. He stepped back, washing the shampoo from my hair before doing the same with the conditioner. 

“Now you gotta let me wash something on you.” I said, grabbing the soap before turning around to face him. 

I lathered up the washcloth, running it over his shoulders, down his arms, before retracing back up to his chest. I dropped down on my knees, washing his legs, my face level with him. He was half hard already, his breathing picking up as I scrubbed him clean, saving his hips for last. I dropped the washcloth, taking him in my hand. He was hot and heavy in my palm as I stroked him up and down his length. I looked up at him as my tongue darted out, teasing his head. His eyes were hooded, breath heavy as I teased him, his hand gripping the shower wall. I pumped his length faster, feeling him grow harder in my hand. I teased him with my tongue again, licking a stripe up the back of his length to his head before taking him in my mouth. His hips jerked as I took him as far as I could, hollowing out my cheeks as I did, my hand working the part of him I couldn’t reach. His heavy pants had turned into moans as I sucked him off, my eyes lifting to his face. His eyes were on me, his muscles flexed in pleasure. His hand tangled in my hair, tugging lightly as he moved his hips slightly. I felt his length twitch against my tongue and he pulled me off of him, tugging my hair gently, signalling me to stand. 

He turned me around, my back meeting his chest as two of his fingers immediately plunged into my heat. My breath hitched, my hand gripping the back of his neck as he started moving his fingers, stretching me out a little. 

“Oh god, Steve, I need you.” I said, my head falling back on his shoulder. 

“I know, baby.” He pushed me forward, my hands meeting the tile wall as he scooted my hips back slightly. “I’ve got you.” 

I felt his head tease my entrance, making me whine softly before he pushed into me, my walls clutching him tightly as he stretched me out. He stilled for a moment, letting me adjust as his hand ran up my arm that was holding me up against the wall, our fingers lacing together. He started moving slowly, his thrusts deep, his hips grinding against my ass as he moved. He leaned down, pressing kisses to my shoulder, the movement causing him to go deeper, to hit that spot deep inside me. I gasped, my head falling back as his lips attached to my neck, teeth clamping down on my skin.

My moans grew louder as his thrusts grew more frantic, both of us nearing the edge. His free hand slipped between my legs, furiously rubbing my clit. My legs shook as my orgasm washed over me, my walls clenching around him, bringing him over the edge as well. 

Both of us were panting, my body shaking slightly with aftershocks from my orgasm. His body folded over mine, his length slipping out of me, causing both of us to groan. He pulled me up, stepping back so we were under the water again. He bent down, grabbing the washcloth were I’d disposed of it, lathering it up again before cleaning my body. I relaxed against his shoulder, melting into his touch as he gently scrubbed my skin. 

“How did I get so lucky?” I murmured, my lips brushing his jaw as he bent down to wash my sides. 

“I could ask you the same thing.” He said, turning me so he could press a kiss to my lips. 

 


	95. House Party

Steve and I spent most of the three days before the party in bed with each other. Things had been tense with HYDRA and we really hadn’t had any time to ourselves. And so the three days of freedom we had, we took advantage of. 

We had been at it for a few hours, neither of us able to get enough. We had paused for a break, both of us heading straight to our computers. I had stolen Steve’s shirt, the blue fabric soft against my skin. Steve had gotten up to use the restroom and I couldn’t help but glance at what he was doing. He’d been hiding it from me for a while now, always switching pages when I neared, never letting me know what he was looking at. But now I had a clear view of the real estate website. All of the listings he was looking at were in Brooklyn. I put my computer on the nightstand, moving back away from his as I heard the door to the bathroom door open. 

I waited until he was sitting down before I pounced. I spun around to face him, sitting cross legged as I stared at the side of his head. “You’re looking for a place in Brooklyn?” 

Steve sighed, the ghost of a smile on his face. “You saw?” 

“You left it wide open next to me. It was kind of hard not to.” 

He sighed again, looking at the screen. “I don’t know if I can afford a place in Brooklyn.” 

I blinked, staring at him for a moment before I closed his laptop, moving it to the side before I climbed in his lap, straddling his waist. “Let me help you.” 

Steve sighed shaking his head. “Skye, I can’t-” 

“No.” I said, placing a finger on his lips to silence him. “My dad is one of the richest people in the world. Shovelling off a few thousand a month is nothing for him. He always said he’d provide for me, and you’re looking at the sole heir of the Stark company, including all of the money it brings in, as well as the money it already has. Trust me, it won’t be a big deal.”

“Which is why I can’t ask you to leave.” 

I took his face in my hands, making sure he was looking at me. “Steve, I’ve spent my whole life in this. The extravagance, always trying to one-up other people. But I always knew I didn’t want to be in it for the rest of my life. I know there are people who would give anything to live like I’ve been able to, but I don’t want to live like that. I want simplicity, I don’t want to have to worry about security detail and always having to look nice because there’s paparazzi everywhere, and every part of my life being documented and the public knowing about it. I’m not my dad. I can’t just be a narcissistic extrovert who loves being in the limelight.” I shook my head. “It’s my life. And not to quote Bon Jovi, or anything, but I just wanna do my own thing. Not be conformed to what society expects me to do.” 

“You’re not gonna live forever either.” Steve said, giving me a pointed look. 

“I know. But I’ll live longer than most. And that makes me afraid.” 

“Hey.” He said, running his hands up my back. “I’m not sure how long I’m gonna live either. If I can even age. How I’ll age. We never really had time to figure that out.” 

“Then we’ll do this. Together. We’ll figure things out one step at a time.” 

Steve’s arms tightened around me, holding me closer as he rolled us over, hovering over me. “I know what my first step is.” He gave me a half smile before leaning down to press his lips against mine. 

I was a little sore when I woke up, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. Steve was stretched out beside me, one arm thrown over his head, the other bent so his hand was on his stomach. I slid over to him, lifting his elbow so I could slide under his arm, tucking my body against the side of his. I sighed, relaxing against his shoulder, my leg wrapping around one of his. He sighed, shifting a little, but he was right out again, his breathing steady, heart beating slowly. I smiled a little, tracing patterns on his chest as I fought off sleep.

“What’s on your mind?” Steve asked, breaking our silence. 

“Just...stuff.” 

He wrapped his other arm around me, flipping us so he lay over me, his body settling in between my legs. “What kind of stuff?” 

“The female Enhanced, Wanda, when she tried to use her powers on me, I tried to use the Aether against her. When our powers met, it was like they rebounded off each other. Like when Thor hits your shield with his hammer.” 

“What are you thinking?” He asked. 

I paused for a moment. I didn’t really want to tell him what I was thinking, but then again, it it were true it could cause some serious issues. “I don’t know what I’m thinking. It’s too early for this.” I sighed, closing my eyes. 

Steve leaned down, nuzzling my neck. His lips found my sweet spot, my back arching involuntarily as his teeth scraped over the skin. His arms slipped around me, holding me tightly against his chest. I could feel him hard against me, his hips pressing against mine. 

“Weren’t you going to go to the gym this morning?” 

Steve hummed against my collarbone, lips pressing a soft kiss to the skin. “I can get my workout in a different way without even having to leave this bed.” He said, smirking. 

“Oh, it is a good thing you are adorable when you do that.” I said. 

“Oh yeah? And why’s that?” 

“If it were any other guy, this would be a totally different situation.” 

“And how am I different?” He asked, leaning up at his elbows so he was looking down at me. 

“You’re not like other guys nowadays.” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. “You’re a breath of fresh air, compared to them.” I moved my hands so I was cupping his face. “Steve, I love you. And I know this is where I’m supposed to be.” I ran my fingers through his messy hair. “The Aether chose to branch itself off into you as well. It connected us together for a reason. It wouldn’t do that for just anyone.” 

Steve stared down at me, a smile forming on his face. He leaned down, kissing me passionately. My arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer to me. “I love you too.” He breathed, resting his forehead against mine. “I love you so much. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” 

()()()0()()()   
“So you and Steve have been going pretty steady for a while now.” 

The part had been going on for a good hour now, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. It was nice after months of fighting HYDRA to be able to relax and have fun. Steve had gone off with Sam, while I talked with Maria. 

“Yeah, we just kind of connected, you know?” I said, before taking a sip of my drink. 

“I think you’ve done a lot more than that. Could I be speaking to the future Mrs. America?” 

I felt a blush rise on my cheeks. “Well...I don’t know about that. Steve...doesn’t really seem interested in that kind of life right now. Saving the world, fighting for what’s right, that’s what he does. And frankly, he doesn’t show any sign of wanting to stop.” 

“What about you? What are you interested in?” 

I looked over to where Steve was standing with Thor. “Five years ago, before this whole thing started, I would have said I wanted to get married, have a family. But now, with everything that’s changed, I don’t even know if that’s possible for me. Things with Steve are great...beyond great, but I don’t know if it will ever get beyond where it is now.” 

Maria was silent as she regarded me for a second. “You really love him, don’t you?” 

“More than anything.” I said, watching him as he approached us. 

“You’re lucky. I know plenty of women who would kill to be in your position.” 

I laughed. “Steve wouldn’t take a woman who killed someone in cold blood to be with him.”

“Oh no. He’s much too righteous for that.” 

“He’s the epitome of a virginal church boy and everything that should be right in this world.” 

“But you’d say differently?” 

I stood up as he got closer to us, walking up to me and wrapping an arm around my waist, his blue shirt just tight enough to tease. “I know differently.” I said, giving her a wink, letting Steve guide me towards the bar. 

 


	96. Party Crasher

“But it’s a trick.” 

“No, no, it’s much more than that.” 

“‘Ah, whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power.’ Whatever man. It’s a trick.” 

Thor held his hand out towards his hammer, which was resting on the table. “Please, be my guest.” 

“Really?” Clint asked before standing up from his spot on the floor. 

“Oh, this is gonna be beautiful.” Rhodey said. 

“Clint, you’ve had a tough week. We won’t hold it against you if you can’t get it up.” My dad said, making everyone laugh. 

“You know I’ve seen this before, right?” Clint said before grabbing the handle and pulling. The hammer didn’t budge. “I still don’t know how you do it!” 

“Smell the silent judgement?” My dad asked. 

“Please, Stark, by all means.” Clint said. 

My dad stood, undoing the button on his suit jacket as he walked over to the hammer. “Never one to shrink from an honest challenge.” 

“Get after it.” Clint said. 

“It’s physics.” My dad said, wrapping the leather strap around his wrist. “Alright, so, if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?” 

“Yes, of course.” Thor said. 

“I will be reinstituting  _ prima nocta _ .” He pulled, but nothing happened. He took the leather strap off his wrist before stepping back. “I’ll be right back.” 

He came back with the hand portion of the Iron Man armor on his arm. He grabbed the hammer’s handle again, using the added strength of the armor, but it still didn’t budge. He even got Rhodey to use the Iron Patriot armor at the same time, but neither of them could get it to budge. 

Bruce stood on the table and used both hands to try and get it to move, but he couldn’t do it either. Steve moved his arm from around my shoulders and stood up, moving over to the hammer. 

“Go ahead, Steve. No pressure.” My dad said. 

Steve rolled his sleeves up a little before grabbing the hammer. 

“Come on, Cap.” Clint said. 

Steve pulled on the hammer, the edge of it budging just slightly as Steve’s grip on it slid up a little. No one but Thor and I noticed. Steve pulled a little bit, but it didn’t move again. Part of me knew he wasn’t hardly trying at all. He let go, stepping back with his hands raised before returning to his seat next to me, his arm wrapping back around my shoulders. 

“And, Widow?” Bruce asked as all eyes turned to Natasha. 

“Oh, no, no that’s not a question I need answered.” 

“All deference to the Man Who Wouldn’t Be King, but it’s rigged.” My dad said. 

“You bet your ass.” Clint said. 

“Steve, he said a bad language word.” Maria said. 

“Did you tell everyone about that?” Steve asked. 

“The handle’s imprinted, right? Like a security code. ‘Whosoever is carrying Thor’s fingerprints’ is, I think, the literal translation.” 

Thor looked to me and I stood, making my way to the table. 

“It’s a very, very interesting theory.” He said. “But I have a simpler one.” 

I pulled lightly on the handle, lifting the hammer off the table before handing it over to him as he stood next to me. 

“What? That’s not fair.” My dad said. 

“How does that work?” Clint asked. 

“You’re all not worthy.” 

Everyone else groaned, shaking their heads. 

A high pitched ringing broke the merriment, making us all cringe. 

_ ‘Worthy.’  _ An automated voice said and we all turned to see one of the robots standing between us, and the elevator.  _ ‘No. How could you be worthy? You’re all killers.’  _

“Stark.” Steve said, standing so I was between him and Thor. 

“JARVIS.” My dad said, but didn’t get any answer. 

_ ‘I’m sorry. I was asleep. Or I was a-dream.’  _

“Reboot Legionnaire OS. We got a buggy suit.” 

_ ‘There was this terrible noise. And I was tangled in...’  _ The suit looked down at the wires hanging off of it.  _ ‘Strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy.’  _

“You killed someone?” Steve asked. 

_ ‘It wouldn’t have been my first call. But down in the real world, we’re faced with ugly choices.’  _

“Who sent you?” Thor asked. 

_ ‘I see a suit of armor around the world.’  _ My dad’s voice played from a recording. 

“Ultron.” 

_ ‘In the flesh. Or, no, not yet. Not this chrysalis. But I’m ready. I’m on a mission.’  _

“What mission?” Natasha asked. 

_ ‘Peace in our time.’  _ The suit said before four others broke through the glass wall, coming straight for us. 

Steve kicked up the coffee table, deflecting the suit that flew right at us, but it knocked him back. I ducked, dodging behind one of the couches. Chaos broke out as the suits started attacking us, shooting at us. Thor hit one with his hammer, sending it flying back. 

“Steve!” I said as one of the suits flew at us. 

“Give me a lift?” 

I nodded, using the Aether to lift him into the air so he was flying, his arms wrapping around the suit. It flew back, creating a dent in the wall where it pushed Steve into it. It let him go, Steve getting a couple punches in before he fell to the ground. I jumped out from behind the couch as my dad jumped on to one of the suits, trying to shut it down. I gained the attention of one of the suits as Natasha and Dr. Banner ran for it. 

“Stark!” Steve yelled. 

“One sec, one sec. I got this.” He said as Thor dismantled one of the suits. 

It’s top half lifted off the ground, flying right for Dr. Cho. I ran over, jumping in front of her, thrusting my hand out, the Aether dismantling the suit completely. 

“Are you okay?” I asked, turning back to her. She nodded. 

“Cap!” Clint threw Steve’s shield to him and he caught it, jumping in the air as he threw it, dismantling the last suit completely. 

_ ‘That was dramatic.’  _ Ultron said.  _ ‘I’m sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn’t think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don’t want it to change. How is humanity saved if it’s not allowed to evolve?’  _ The suit bent over, picking up the dismantled piece of one of the other suits.  _ ‘With these? These puppets.’ _ It crushed the headpiece in its hand before tossing it away.  _ ‘There’s only one path to peace. The Avengers’ extinction.’  _ Thor threw his hammer, breaking the suit into pieces.  _ ‘I had strings, but now I’m free.’  _

I felt something wet dripping down my nose and wiped at it, feeling blood. I got dizzy for a second, an image flashing in front of my eyes of a city in ruins, people running everywhere while thousands of robots flew through the air, destroying everything in their path. What had my dad started? 


	97. Old-Fashioned Digging

“All our work is gone.” Dr. Banner said as he looked through the computers in the lab. “Ultron cleared out. He used the Internet as an escape hatch.” 

I was sitting on one of the tables as Steve leaned against it. 

“Ultron.” Steve said, his Captain America face on. 

“He’s been in everything. Files, surveillance.” Natasha said. “Probably knows more about us than we know about each other.” 

“He’s in your files, he’s in the Internet.” Rhodey said, walking towards the center of the room. “What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?” 

“Nuclear codes.” Maria said. 

“Nuclear codes.” Rhodey echoed. 

“Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can.” Steve said. 

“Nukes? He said he wanted us dead.” Natasha said. 

“He didn’t say ‘dead.’ He said ‘extinct.’” 

“He also said he killed somebody.” Clint said, stepping forward. 

“There wasn’t anyone else in the building.” Maria said. 

“Yes there was.” My dad said, stepping forward. He put up a hologram version of JARVIS and we all stepped closer. 

“What?” Dr. Banner said, looking at the mass of scattered pieces that the hologram showed. “This is insane.” 

“JARVIS was the first line of defense.” Steve said. “He would have shut Ultron down. It makes sense.” 

“No. Ultron could have assimilated JARVIS.” Dr. Banner said. “This isn’t strategy. This is rage.” 

Heavy footsteps came closer to the lab, Thor storming in, beelining for my dad, who happened to turn right as Thor grabbed him around the neck, lifting him into the air. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” 

“It’s going around.” Clint said. 

“Come on, use your words, buddy.” My dad said. 

“I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark.” 

“Thor.” Steve said, stepping closer. “The Legionnaire.” 

Thor put my dad down, making him stumble back. “Trail went cold about 100 miles out, but it’s headed north. And it has the scepter. Now we have to retrieve it again.” 

“Genie’s out of that bottle. Clear and present is Ultron.” Natasha said. 

“I don’t understand.” Dr. Cho said. “You built this program.” She said, turning to my dad. “Why is it trying to kill us?” 

My dad started laughing, making the rest of us raise our eyebrows as Dr. Banner shook his head at him. 

“You think this is funny?” Thor asked. 

“No.” My dad said, turning back around. “It’s probably not, right? This is very terrible. Is it so...” He started laughing again. “Is it so...it is. It’s terrible.” 

“This could have been avoided if you hadn’t played with something you don’t understand.” Thor said. 

“No. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It is funny. It’s a hoot that you don’t get why we need this.” 

“Tony, this might not be the time.” Dr. Banner said warningly. 

“Really? That’s it?” He said, turning back to face him. “You just roll over, show your belly every time somebody snarls?” 

“Only when I’ve created a murder bot.” 

“We didn’t. We weren’t even close. Were we close to an interface?” Bruce just shrugged at him. 

“Well, you did something right. And you did it right here.” Steve said. “The Avengers were supposed to be different than SHIELD.” 

“Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?” My dad asked, stepping back. 

“No, it’s never come up.” Rhodey said. 

“Saved New York?”

“Never heard that.” 

“Recall that? A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We’re standing 300 feet below it. We’re the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the livelong day, but that up there, that’s...that’s the endgame. How were you guys planning on beating that?” 

“Together.” Steve said. 

“We’ll lose.” My dad said, stepping forward. 

“Then we’ll do that together, too.” 

I didn’t know if anyone else noticed it, but there was something else in my dad’s gaze. Something that was bothering him. Something that was big enough for him to create a murderous robot bent on rendering us extinct. I didn’t know what it was exactly, but I knew it wasn’t good. 

“Thor’s right. Ultron’s calling us out.” Steve said. “And I’d like to find him before he’s ready for us. The world’s a big place. Let’s start making it smaller.” 

We all dispersed, heading off to change out of our party clothes. Steve and I didn’t say anything as we rode up to our floor, but the tension was thick. This wasn’t the first stupid decision my dad had made, but at least before he had treated it that way. Now...now there was something else going on. 

“Okay. Talk to me.” Steve said once I had my dress pulled over my head. “What’s going on?” He said, running his hands up my sides. 

I sighed. “Did you see it too?” I laced my fingers with his, leaning back so I was against his chest. “The look in his eyes?” I turned around to face him. “There’s something else going on here besides just wanting world peace. I may not be able to read minds, but I know my dad better than anyone on the team. And there’s something else going on here besides just what’s on the surface.” 

“And what are you going to do about it?” He asked, brushing his fingers across my cheek. 

“I’m going to find out what it is.” 

I left our floor, heading back to where everyone was once I changed into a tank top and jeans. I left Steve to change, wanting to see if I could get my dad alone long enough to question him. But it didn’t look like that was going to happen anytime soon. We had other things to worry about at the moment. Like finding the murder bot he had created for whatever reason, which I wanted to find out before we all died at the hands of said murder bot. It had been a long night. 

I was going through a file when Steve came in, handing a tablet to Thor. 

“What’s this?” My dad asked, moving closer to Thor. 

“A message. Ultron killed Strucker.” Steve said as Thor shoved the tablet into my dad’s chest. 

“And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us.” My dad said. 

“This is a smoke screen.” Natasha said. “Why send a message when you’ve just given a speech?” 

“Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss.” Steve said. 

“Yeah, I bet he...yeah.” Natasha said as the computer beeped. “Everything we had on Strucker’s been erased.” 

“Not everything.” Steve said. 

We pulled cart after cart of boxes out of storage, going through files like mad. There were a lot of them, and only a handful of us. 

“Well, these people are all horrible.” Bruce said. 

“Wait. I know that guy.” My dad said, pointing to the file in Bruce’s hand. “From back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black market arms.” Steve gave my dad a look. “There are conventions. All right? You meet people. I didn’t sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game-changer. It was all very Ahab.” 

“This?” Thor asked, looking at the photo of the guy. 

“Ah, it’s a tattoo. I don’t think he had it.” 

“Those are tattoos.” Thor said, pointing at the picture. “This is a brand.” 

Dr. Banner got on one of the computers, looking for any match to the brand on the man’s neck while we searched other files. 

“Oh, yeah. It’s a word in an African dialect meaning ‘thief.’ In a much less friendly way.” He said, turning around to face us. 

“What dialect?” Steve asked. 

“Wakanada...” Bruce stammered. “Wakanda.” 

Steve and my dad looked at each other. “If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods...” 

“I thought your father said he got the last of it.” 

“I don’t follow.” Bruce said, standing up. “What comes out of Wakanda?” 

Steve looked back at his shield which was laying against some storage containers. 

“The strongest metal on Earth.” My dad said. 

“Where is this guy now?”  


	98. Mind Games

We were able to zero in on Klaw’s location, placing him off the African coast in a cargo ship off a salvage yard. But, unfortunately, we didn’t make it before Ultron, and the twins did. 

“Stark, Thor and I will go in front and center. Romanoff, Barton and Skye will come in from the sides. Banner, stay here unless we call a code green.” 

Nat and I snuck in one side while Clint went in another. To be honest, I was slightly nervous. We didn’t have a clue what we were going up against. And if things went the way they did last time, it didn’t look good for us. 

“Stark is...he’s a sickness.” I heard Ultron say. I took a little offense to that. 

“An, Junior. You’re gonna break your old man’s heart.” 

“If I have to.” 

“Nobody has to break anything.” Thor said. 

“Clearly you’ve never made an omelet.” Ultron said. 

“He beat me by one second.” My dad said. 

“Ah, yes. He’s funny.” The male Maximoff, Pietro said. “Mr. Stark. It’s what? Comfortable? Like old times?” 

“This was never my life.” 

“You two can still walk away from this.” Steve said. 

“Oh, we will.” Wanda said. 

“I know you’ve suffered-” 

Ultron scoffed. “Captain America. God’s righteous man. Pretending you could live without a war. I can’t physically throw up in my mouth, but-” 

Natasha had to hold me back from running out there and attacking Ultron. Oh, I was mad now. 

“If you believe in peace then let us keep it.” Thor said. 

“I think you’re confusing ‘peace’ with ‘quiet.’” 

“Uh-huh. What’ s the vibranium for?” My dad asked. 

“I’m glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan.” He waved his hand, pulling my dad’s suit forward, Thor and Steve being knocked back. 

He shot a laser at him through his hand, sending him flying back against the ship wall. My dad flew towards him, meeting him in mid-air. Suddenly men started coming out of hallways, shooting at everyone. Nat, Clint and I took down the men while my dad fought Ultron in the air, Thor and Steve taking care of the robots. I saw Pietro get thrown off the top level, hitting a few of the storage containers. I jumped down, kicking one of the henchmen in the face, ducking as a shield flew over my head, taking out the remaining two. I turned, nodding to Steve before running in the opposite direction. I threw two of the henchmen back, shredding one of the robots with the Aether. 

_ “Thor, status?” _ I heard Steve’s voice over the commlink. 

_ “The girl tried to warp my mind. Take special care. I doubt a human mind could keep her at bay. Fortunately, I am mighty.”  _

He trailed off and I didn’t hear anything else from him. I heard a grunt to my left, watching as Steve flew through the air. I went to run towards him, but I was knocked back, Pietro appearing in front of me. 

“Trust me.” I said, getting back to my feet. “You really don’t want to fight me.” 

He just smirked before speeding off in a blur. I turned around, lifting my hand as Wanda’s power bounced off the Aether. 

“I’ve done the whole ‘mind-control’ thing before.” I said, shoving her back with a wave of my hand. I held up my arm, the Aether blocking the debris she set flying towards me. 

I shot some of the Aether towards her, but she blocked it with her own powers, sending the approaching men flying back when our powers met. I felt the Aether build up inside me, the very ends of my nerves tingling with power. She took a step back, her eyes wide. I shot my hand out, watching as the Aether swirled around her, her eyes turning red as a dazed look filled them. She stumbled back, looking around her fearfully. 

“It’s not really my thing.” 

There was a blur and I was shoved back again, watching as Pietro picked his sister up, speeding away from the area. I sighed, laying back down on the ground for a moment. 

_ “Whoever’s standing, we got to move!”  _ I heard Clint over the comlink. 

I heard a thud which captured my attention and I sat up, watching Steve stumble around mindlessly. 

_ “Guys?”  _

“Clint? It was the Maximoff girl. She’s messed with their heads.” I said as I grabbed Steve’s arm, pulling him back towards the stairs. 

_ “Natasha, I could really use a lullaby.”  _ I heard my dad’s voice over the commlink. 

_ “That’s not gonna happen.”  _ Clint said.  _ “Not for a while. The whole team is down. You got no backup here.”  _

_ “I’m calling in Veronica.”  _

“Clint, you get Natasha. I’ll work on Steve and Thor.” I said before turning back to Steve. “Steve, come on.” I slapped his cheeks lightly. “You gotta snap out of it.” 

_ “I’m taking Nat out to the jet.”  _ Clint said. 

“Okay. I might need help getting Thor out.” 

_ “Roger that.”  _

“Steve, baby.” I moved his arms so I was sitting in his lap, my hands cupping his face. “Wake up.” I pressed against his head harder, watching as the Aether moved from my hands to his face, snapping him out of whatever daze he’d been in. 

I was suddenly pushed back, falling the three steps down, my back hitting the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of me as Steve’s hand wrapped around my throat. 

“Steve.” I gasped, watching as the fog cleared, realization coming back. 

He released my throat, falling back away from me as he breathed heavily. I sat up, catching my breath quickly as I studied him. He wasn’t completely back, there was still a confusion there, as well as something else I couldn’t place. 

“Steve?” I said hesitantly, not wanting to startle him too much. 

He finally looked at me, and the look in his eyes broke my heart. I didn’t say anything, just swallowed the lump in my throat before standing, offering him a hand. I pulled him to his feet, steadying him. 

“Skye?” I turned when I heard Clint’s voice. 

“I’m gonna need your help with Thor.” I said, turning back to Steve. “Can you get back out to the jet?” 

He nodded, bending down to pick up his helmet. He stared down at it in his hands and I nodded to Clint, skirting around Steve, and up the stairs. I found Thor on his hands and knees not far from us, his hammer discarded to the side. 

“Hold him back.” I said to Clint, kneeling down beside Thor. Clint got on his other side, placing his hands on Thor’s shoulders. 

“You sure this is gonna work?” He asked. 

“I have no idea.” I said, cupping Thor’s face in my hands. 

I did the same thing I did with Steve, focusing the Aether towards him, watching as it passed from my hands to him, the fog in his eyes clearing slightly. He jerked out of Clint’s grasp, breathing hard as he fell back against the railing. 

“Thor?” I asked, watching as the fog cleared, much like it had with Steve. 

I nodded to Clint, throwing one of Thor’s arms around my shoulders, wrapping the other around his waist, both Clint and I straining as we lifted the thunder god to his feet. I grabbed his hammer as we passed it, leading him out to the jet. 

Steve was there, sitting in one of the seats while Natasha was still looking a little dazed across from him. We set Thor down in one of the seats before I went over to Natasha, doing the same thing I’d done to Steve and Thor to her. I jumped back as she kicked out at me, then made sure she was coming back to before finding my own seat. 

“Buckle up. I’m gonna find Stark and Banner.” Clint said, starting the quinjet. 

I buckled myself in, not able to keep my gaze away from Steve, where he sat with his back to me. I knew not to question, or push anything. Whatever had happened, it hadn’t been good, and it could possibly be the end of things. 

  
  



	99. Barton Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, I've been busy. I'm taking a bit of a leap of faith here, and please let me know what you think. Like it, hate it? Don't really care? Because I can always change it if nobody likes it.

**_“Steve?”_ **

Nothing. No response. It was just black on his end of the connection, his back turned towards me as we sat in the quinjet, heading wherever we were going. My dad, Clint and I were the only ones that seemed okay. Everyone else was quiet, off in their own world. We’d taken a hard hit, and whatever Wanda had done to them, it hadn’t been good. It stung just a little bit that I was being ignored, but I couldn’t really question it. I knew Steve was gonna need space, but it would be better if he would at least tell me in person, rather than just ignore me and push me away. Sure, it was a little selfish of me to say that, but I needed to know what was going on between us. If it was really heading downhill. 

There was no ‘if’ there. It already was. 

We flew through the night, none of us in the mood for sleep as we all dealt with what had just happened. I could feel my dad’s gaze on me, but I didn’t turn to look at him. I didn’t really want to see him at the moment. I didn’t want to see anyone at the moment. 

We landed out in the country, on a hill not far from a farm house. The sky was light pink, the sun just barely coming up over the rolling hills. It was gorgeous. Different than what I was used to, but gorgeous nonetheless. 

We all filed out of the quinjet, Clint leading the way with Natasha while I walked in between my dad and Thor, Steve and Bruce picking up the rear. We walked to the quiet farmhouse, nothing but the sound of nature around us. It was refreshing, after hearing nothing but New York City for over a year. Maybe I’d have to take something like this into consideration after this whole Ultron situation was finished. 

“What is this place?” Thor asked as we climbed the steps to the porch. 

“Safe house.” My dad said. 

“Let’s hope.”Clint said as he opened the door, leading the way in. “Honey?” Clint called. “I’m home.” A very pregnant woman came out of the kitchen, slowing when she saw us. “Hi. Company. Sorry, didn’t call ahead.” Clint said, approaching the woman. 

She put the papers in her hand down before embracing Clint, greeting him. 

“This is an agent of some kind.” My dad said. 

“Gentlemen, this is Laura.” Clint said. 

She waved at us, giving us a smile. “I know all your names.” 

The sound of running footsteps came closer. “Incoming.” Clint said before two kids, a boy and a girl came running in, hugging Clint. 

“These are smaller agents.” My dad said and I rolled my eyes. 

“Did you bring Auntie Nat?” The little girl asked. 

“Why don't you hug her and find out?” Nat said, picking her up in a hug. 

“Sorry for barging in on you.” Steve said. 

“Yeah, we would have called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed.” My dad said. 

“Yeah, well, Fury helped me set this up when I first joined. He kept it off SHIELD files. I’d like to keep it that way. Figure it’s a good place to lay low.” 

“I missed you.” Natasha said, turning to Laura. “How’s little Natasha doing?” 

“She’s Nathaniel.” 

“Traitor.” Nat said, leaning down to the baby bump. 

A picture flashed in front of my eyes then. A little sandy haired boy ran through a field, running straight to Steve’s arms. He picked the little boy up, spinning him around before pressing a kiss to his cheek. He walked back through the field, carrying the little boy on his hip as he neared me, my stomach protruding out slightly. Steve leaned down pressing a kiss to my lips before placing a hand on my stomach, smiling down at me. 

I snapped back to reality, taking in a shaky breath, the walls closing in on me. I turned, slipping out the front door, my breaths shaky as I leaned against the porch railing. I didn’t know if it was really the future, or my mind just thinking wishfully. I didn’t even know if it was possible now for me to have children. I didn’t know if Steve...

“Skye?” Thor’s voice brought me out of my thoughts. 

I turned towards him, blinking the tears from my eyes. I wasn’t going to let myself cry over something stupid like that. Steve was going to do what he wanted. Whether he saw me in his future or not, that was up to him. 

“What’s up?” I asked, trying to avoid looking at him for too long. 

“I’m leaving.” 

“What?” 

He looked behind him at the doorway. “I saw something in that dream. I need answers. I won’t find them here.” 

He went to turn away, but I grabbed his arm. “Take me with you.” 

“Skye-” 

“Please.” I took a step closer, oblivious to the person in the doorway. “I can’t stay here. It-It’s too much. Please.” 

He looked back to the doorway, sighing, before turning back to me. “Very well.” 

He led me down the stairs, wrapping an arm around me before taking off into the sky, the wind whipping around us as we flew away from the Barton family farm.

**3RD POV**

“Rogers, where’s my daughter?” Tony asked after he’d showered and changed clothes. He’d noticed her absence after he’d noticed Thor’s. The only other person who would know would be his future older-than-him-son-in-law, who was outside chopping wood. 

“She left with Thor.” Steve said as he set another piece of wood on the stump. 

“You just let my daughter walk out of here without telling me?” 

“She’s an adult, Tony. I figured she had the right.” 

“Let me rephrase that. You let her leave?” 

Steve shrugged. “She wanted to leave. It was her choice.” 

Tony scoffed, grabbing a second axe, leaning on it slightly. “You just don’t get it, do you?” 

“Don’t get what?” Steve asked, pausing for a moment. 

“How much you mean to her. How much she loves you. You’re the only person she’s been with, and probably the only person she will be with. You are everything to her, and you just let her walk away.” 

Steve stared down at the pile of wood for a moment. Tony had a point, but he didn’t want to be around her with the mental state he was in at the moment. What he’d seen...what it had done to him. How much reality had hit him at that moment. When her face had replaced Peggy’s before she’s pulled him out. He shook his head, going back to cutting wood. 

Thankfully Tony left him alone, not questioning him further as both men set to chopping wood. They were silent for a few moments before Tony finally broke it. The man never knew when to be quiet. 

“Thor didn’t say where they were going for answers?” 

“Sometimes my teammates don’t tell me things.” Steve said, looking over at Clint. “I was kind of hoping Thor would be the exception.” 

“Yeah, give him time.” Tony said. “We don’t know what the Maximoff kid showed him.” 

“‘Earth’s mightiest heroes.’” Steve said, grabbing another log. “Pulled us apart like cotton candy.” 

“Seems like you walked away alright.” 

Steve paused, straightening up to look at Tony. “Is that a problem?” 

“Well, considering my daughter looked more bothered by it than you did, yes. I don’t trust a guy without a dark side. Call me old-fashioned.” 

“Well let’s just say you haven’t seen it yet.” 


	100. Water of Sight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I decided to use the deleted scenes version of this scene, just because I like it a hell of a lot better than what ended up in the movie. I'm pretty sure you can find it on YouTube if you haven't seen it.

_ Images were flashing in front of his face. He was in a jazz club, surrounded by women and men, soldiers, all celebrating. But it seemed with every flash, every champagne bottle that popped, he was back on the battlefield, being shot at, dodging bullets and grenades as they flew his way.  _

_ ‘Are you ready for our dance?’ He spun around, hearing Peggy’s voice. He had to take a moment to think. This couldn’t possibly be real. ‘The war is over, Steve. We can go home. Imagine it.’  _

_ He spun back around, finding himself alone in the club. He didn’t want to believe it, but it felt so real.  _

_ ‘James!’ He heard Peggy shout, turning as she chased a small sandy haired boy across the dance floor. ‘James, come back here!’  _

_ ‘An awful lot like his father, isn’t he?’ Peggy said, placing her hand on his shoulder.  _

_ The little boy ran up to him, stopping just a few feet away. There were similarities there, his blue eyes, his hair, but there was also a familiarity that did not belong to Peggy.  _

_ ‘See, Steve?’ He turned back to her, watching as Peggy’s face changed into Skye’s. ‘We can still have this. Together.’  _

**SKYE’S POV**

“What are we going to do, rob a store?” I asked as Thor and I landed in London. 

“Well, we can’t exactly go walking around in these clothes. It’s not very inconspicuous.” 

I rolled my eyes, pulling my wallet out of suit’s utility belt. “I have a better idea.” 

Thor and I entered the first shop we saw, buying ourselves a change of clothes before heading down the street towards the University of London. 

“What are we doing here?” I asked, having to almost jog to keep up with him. 

“There’s a cave, not far out of the city that is rumored to allow people to see their dreams. It may give me answers to the questions I have.” 

“That sounds dangerous.” 

“Yes. But it’s a price I’m willing to take.” 

“So why are we stopping at the University of London?” 

“I need to see someone. Ask for his help.” 

“Dr. Selvig?” 

Thor turned to me as we stopped at a crosswalk. “How did you know-” 

“I read.” I said, shrugging. “All of SHIELD’s files were kind of dumped on the internet after it fell. I may have found a few dozen, including New Mexico.” 

He gave me a look out of the corner of his eye as we started walking again. “What? I had a lot of time on my hands, and nothing to do with it.” 

“Ah yes. I remember your father telling me. He was worried I would need to, how did he say it? ‘Smack some sense into Steve with my hammer?’” 

I groaned, facepalming a little. “He really said that?” 

“Oh yes, as well as a few other things.” Thor wrapped an arm around my shoulders as we walked through the campus. “Though, I was not about to disagree with him. I’m not going to speak against your relationship with Steve, but I’ve found sometimes the closest relationships need space. You’ve been with him for, what, a year now? You haven’t had that much time apart, and sometimes that’s all you need.” 

“But I’m afraid we’re too far apart now for it to ever be the same again.” 

“Do I need to ‘smack some sense into him with my hammer?’” Thor asked, leaning against a car. 

“No.” I said, smiling a little. “No, I think I’ll be okay.” I said, leaning beside him. “But if I need backup, I’ll let you know.” 

We didn’t have to wait long before Dr. Selvig made his appearance. 

“I like the look.” He said, walking towards the car we were leaning on. “If you’re going for inconspicuous, though, near miss.” 

“I need your help.” Thor said, turning around. 

“It’s nice to be needed.” Dr. Selvig said, opening the driver's side door. 

“It’s dangerous.” 

“I’d be disappointed if it wasn’t.” 

“We have to contact the Norns.” 

“The Norns? Like the Fates in Greek mythology?” 

“A little bit different.” 

“In what way?” 

“Well for one thing,” Thor said, opening the passenger door. “They’re real.” He nodded to Dr. Selvig before getting into the car. 

I followed his lead, slipping into the back seat. 

“Miss Stark.” Dr. Selvig nodded to me as he started the car. 

“Dr. Selvig.” I nodded back. 

Thor told Dr. Selvig about his plan as we drove to his apartment to fetch a few things Thor said we’d need once we found it. 

It only took a few hours, and us getting turned around twice before we found it, nestled in the last place we’d expected to find it. I was a little hesitant to enter the cave, the energy inside completely different from that outside. It made my skin crawl, and there was a buzzing in my ear, almost like static electricity. 

“So this is it?” Dr. Selvig asked, approaching the pool of water. “The Water of Sight. I thought the Norn Cave was in Asgard.” 

“In every realm there’s a reflection. The Norns see what no eye can, what is and what’s to come.” Dr. Selvig opened the small chest Thor had placed the items he’d grabbed in, looking over what was inside. “Those are to invoke them. It will take time and concentration.” Thor said, sitting down near the edge of the pool. 

“You think they’ll talk to you?” 

“No. They’ll talk to you.” Thor said, turning to me.

“Me?”

“Yes. They’ll be drawn to your power. You’ll be able to get answers from them quickly.” He stood back up. “Now, the Norns expect a sacrifice for this privilege, they feed on life.” 

“You’re the sacrifice?” I asked, stepping closer to the two men. 

“I have more life than most.” Thor said simply. “Hopefully you can find out what we need before they consume me completely.”

“This is a new kind of dangerous.” Dr. Selvig said. 

Thor didn’t say anything, at least in English. 

“What?” Dr. Selvig asked. 

“The thing I fear contains the thing I need.” Thor said, pulling a flask out of his pocket. 

“What’s that for?” 

“That’s for me. The thing I fear is scary.” He said before taking a long drink out of it. 

He took off his sweatshirt and his shirt before entering the pool, submerging himself for a moment. I sat on the edge of the pool, holding out a recording device. I was nervous, not liking how the energy in the cave shifted. Thor came back to the surface of the water as sinister chuckling filled the cave. 

“Fools!” A distorted version of Thor’s voice said.  

“Who?” Dr. Selvig asked from where he sat next to me. 

“All of you.” Thor grunted, lightning surrounding him for a moment. “This one’s special. Thinking we won’t consume him.” 

“How do we stop Ultron?” I asked. 

“Sacrifice.” 

“What kind?” 

“Human, of course.” Thor yelled as lightning shot out from him again. “And we count the dead and they are legion. The stone draws you all to its brilliance and you to your end.” 

“The stone from Loki’s scepter?” 

“It was never his. It is of the six. The infinite six. Cannot be joined, nor kept apart.” I scooted back a little bit as he yelled out, jerking back slightly. A chuckle left him. “This one fights us. Sustenance! We will have sustenance!” He clawed forward and both Dr. Selvig and I backed up. 

“This stone?” 

“The Mind Stone that rules perception, that molds the mind’s monsters. It carved out your will, Erik, and still you don’t see?” 

“If Ultron has the Mind Stone-” 

“No. Your enemies are closer.” He jerked back again. “God fear Father’s ambition. And brilliance only blinds.” 

Thor was submerged again, disappearing under the water. 

“We must stop!” Dr. Selvig said. “Thor!” 

He came back to the surface, laughing. “You’re too late! Dark! Dark is the moon! Embrace this black.” 

Thor jumped out of the water, crawling across the rocks at our feet. 

“Thor?” Dr. Selvig asked. 

Thor rolled on his back, breathing hard. “They don’t see what’s coming.” He breathed. 


	101. Vision

I was running up the stairs to the lab. Thor and I had flown back to New York as fast as he could, knowing things were going to get messy. I was a little scared, not quite knowing what to expect. I had been right. The twins power had come from an Infinity Stone, which was why Wanda’s powers couldn’t mix with mine. Why they rebounded off each other. And now that the Infinity Stone was in play, I wasn’t quite sure what would happen when the Aether confronted the Mind Stone. 

I threw open the doors, hearing glass shattering and the sound of people fighting. That was not good. I ran up to where everyone was, just in time to see my dad put on part of the suit, Steve jumping at him. 

“Wait!” I yelled, but it was too late. 

My dad fired at Steve and both of them went flying back, my dad breaking through a glass wall. Dr. Banner was holding Wanda, who sent him flying back with her power. Thankfully Thor arrived at that time, jumping on top of the cradle in the middle of the room. Thor raised his hammer, conjuring lightning before slamming his hammer down on top of the cradle. The machines started beeping with the power overload. 

It was silent for a second before the cradle exploded, Thor flying back right past me. I ducked down, shielding myself from the falling debris. A figure came up out of the cradle, it’s body red, infused with vibranium. There was a glowing yellow stone in the middle of his forehead, and I guessed it had to be the Mind Stone. The figure stood up, glancing around the room at the rest of us. I could feel it, the Mind Stone working, giving power to the figure. The Aether stirred inside me, my control slipping for a moment. 

He suddenly flew towards Thor, and I just barely had time to jump in front of him, surrounding myself with the Aether. Both of us went flying, breaking through glass walls as it’s hands slipped through the Aether, grabbing me as it went. I hit the floor as it dropped me after breaking through the lab window before sailing across the party deck before coming to a stop right at the window overlooking the city. I gasped as the breath was knocked out of me, glass cutting my skin, but I could already feel the Aether working to heal me. It almost seemed like the Aether was working double time to heal the cuts caused by the glass. I felt a little dizzy, not quite sure what was happening for a moment. 

Thor jumped out of the broken window approaching me and the figure, Steve following him. I turned, staring up at the figure as it looked out at the city, seemingly in awe of it. Thor wrapped his hands around my arms, pulling me to my feet. The rest of the group took the stairs, approaching slowly, not really knowing what to expect. The figure floated back down towards us, clothing himself in a dark green suit as he landed. 

“I am sorry. That was...odd.” It...he...said, turning towards where Thor and I were standing. “Thank you.” 

“Thor.” Steve said as a cape appeared on the figure’s back. “You helped create this?” 

“I’ve had a vision. A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life, and at its center is that.” He said, pointing to the stone in the middle of the figure’s forehead.

“What? The gem?” 

“It’s the Mind Stone. It’s one of the six Infinity Stones.” 

“Like what’s inside Skye.” My dad said. 

“Then why would you bring-” Steve started. 

“Because Stark is right.” Thor said. 

“Oh, it’s definitely the end times.” Dr. Banner said. 

“The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron. Not alone.” The figure said. 

“Why does your Vision sound like JARVIS?” Steve asked as the figure walked closer to the others. 

“We reconfigured JARVIS’s matrix to create something new.” My dad said, stepping closer to him. 

“I think I’ve had my fill of new.” Steve said. 

“You think I’m a child of Ultron?” The figure asked, stepping past my dad, turning to face them.

“You’re not?” Steve asked. 

“I’m not Ultron. I am not JARVIS. I am...I am.” 

“I looked in your head and saw annihilation.” Wanda said, stepping closer to him. 

“Look again.” 

Clint scoffed, walking into the room. “Her seal of approval means jack to me.” 

“Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself, they all came from the Mind Stone. And they’re nothing compared to what it can unleash.” Thor said. 

“I think I have an idea.” My dad said, looking to me. I just gave him a look. 

“But with it on our side-” 

“Is it?” Steve asked. “Are you? On our side?” 

“I don’t think it’s that simple.” 

“Well, it better get real simple real soon.” Clint said. 

“I am on the side of life. Ultron isn’t. He will end it all.” 

“What is he waiting for?” My dad asked. 

“You.” 

“Where?” Dr. Banner asked. 

“Sokovia.” Clint said. “He’s got Nat there too.” 

Dr. Banner stepped closer to the figure. “If we’re wrong about you, if you’re the monster that Ultron made you to be-” 

“What will you do?” It was silent as the figure looked at all of us. “I don’t want to kill Ultron. He’s unique and he’s in pain.” He said, walking past Dr. Banner towards Thor and I. “But that pain will roll over the Earth. So, he must be destroyed. Every form he’s built, every trace of his presence on the net. We have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others.” He turned to look at the others. “Maybe I am a monster.” He looked down at his hands. “I don’t think I’d know if I were one. I’m not what you are, and not what you intended.” He turned back around. “So, there may be no way to make you trust me. But we need to go.” He said, turning with Thor’s hammer in hand. 

Thor took it from him and everyone just watched silently as he walked past. 

“Right.” Thor said, turning to follow him. “Well done.” He said, patting my dad on the shoulder. 

“Three minutes. Get what you need.” Steve said. 

I went up to mine and Steve’s bedroom, grabbing the spare suit from the closet. I took one last look around, knowing this could very well be the last time I was looking at it. I’d probably be moving back to my own floor after this was done. 

“Hey.” Steve said as I walked out of the bathroom, nearly jumping out of my skin. “Are you okay.” 

I couldn’t help the scoff that escaped as I grabbed my boots “Now you wanna talk? It took getting thrown through a window by an andriod for you to talk to me?” 

“I know I was stupid to ignore you-” 

“Stupid doesn’t even begin to describe you right now.” 

“I know you’re mad-” 

“I’m not mad anymore. I got over that pretty quickly. I’m hurt, Steve. You basically just threw me out with the trash. I get it. You saw something that shook you up pretty bad, but you seem fine now! I’ve seen our deaths, Steve. I’ve seen them multiple times. I’ve seen...I’ve seen things you can’t even begin to understand. Hell, I don’t even understand them. But you don’t see me running for the hills, ignoring you, throwing you out-” 

Steve grabbed me before I could push past him. “I saw our son, Skye.” 

I froze, my eyes glued to the floor. My breath hitched, my eyes closing as I fought back tears. “Steve-” 

“You know I can’t offer you that, Skye. I can’t offer you anything.” 

I shook my head. “Who said I ever wanted it.” I spat out before pushing past him, making my way out of the room. 

I pulled my hair back in the elevator, making sure it was out of my face as I stretched a little bit, trying to clear my head. I was nervous. This was bigger than anything we’d ever faced before. As far as the future looked, we’d make it out, but as I’d learned before, the future could change in an instant. 


	102. Battle for Sokovia

“Ultron knows we’re coming.” Steve said as we got closer to Sokovia. There was a nervous tension in the jet as we neared the place where we’d be fighting for humanity. “Odds are we’ll be riding into heavy fire. And that’s what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia, they didn’t. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace. And that’s not gonna happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done. We find out what Ultron’s been building, we find Romanoff, and we clear the field. Keep the right between us.” Steve went silent for a moment. “Ultron thinks we’re monsters. That we’re what’s wrong with the world. This isn’t just about beating him. It’s about whether he’s right.” 

I could feel his eyes burning into the back of my skull, but I kept my gaze in front of me, trying to calm my nerves. 

()()()0()()()

_ I stopped on the party deck, using the restroom one last time before heading towards the quinjet, just barely missing running into Vision.  _

_ “I am so sorry I wasn’t paying attention.” I said, taking a step back from him.  _

_ He regarded me with a curious eye and my eyes were drawn to the stone in the middle of his forehead. I could feel the Aether stirring inside me, being so close to another Infinity Stone.  _

_ “I feel...strange.” He said, tilting his head slightly.  _

_ “It’s the stone.” I said, lifting my hands which had started glowing. “It’s reacting to being so close to mine.”  _

_ “I’m hoping it won’t be like this every time we’re close to each other.”  _

_ “I think once they get used to each other, hopefully it’ll calm down.”  _

_ “JARVIS helped raised you. I am sorry about taking him away.”  _

_ “You actually can...oh that’s embarrassing.”  _

_ “You are just like your father, just without his destructive tendencies.”  _

_ “Well that’s good...I think.”  _

_ “I am sorry for what happened earlier.”  _

_ “It’s alright. I healed. It’s not the first time it’s happened either. Nor probably the last.”  _

()()()0()()()

The city was clearing, people leaving on foot and in cars. It was taking longer than we would have liked, but they could only move so fast, even with Wanda’s mind control. Suddenly something burst out of the ground at my feet, breaking right through the stone. I stepped back as the vibranium robot climbed the rest of the way out before taking off into the sky. They started popping up all over, firing at people as they went, creating chaos in the otherwise quiet street. 

I blocked one of the robot’s shots, firing back at it, breaking it into a dozen pieces. 

“Go!” I shouted at the people behind me as I put up a barrier between them and the robots. “Get out of here!” 

I dropped the barrier, building the Aether’s power up before releasing it, firing at the robots, destroying all of them around me. 

The ground started shaking, pieces of the street cracking as a crevasse opened. I stood on the edge of it, watching as the city broke in half, the part I was standing on seeming to get higher. And then I realized it was. We were lifting into the air. 

_ ‘Do you see the beauty of it? The inevitability. You rise, only to fall.’  _ Ultron’s voice came from the robots all over the city.  _ ‘You, Avengers, you are my meteor. My swift and terrible sword. And the Earth will crack with the weight of your failure. Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing. When the dust settles. The only thing living in this world will be metal.’  _

I spun around, grabbing the head of the robot behind me, the Aether moving under my skin, sinking into the robot. It shook for a second before exploding into a million pieces. I fell back against the car behind me, breathing hard. 

“Huh. I wonder if that’ll work on a bigger robot.” 

()()()0()()()

_ “Dad?” I asked as I approached the helicarrier where he was loading his suit up.  _

_ “Hey, sweetheart.” He said, turning to me.  _

_ I threw my arms around him, burying my face in his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly.  _

_ “Daddy, I’m scared.” I whispered, fighting back tears.  _

_ “I know.” He whispered, cradling the back of my head. “You have every right to be. I brought this on, and now we have to risk our lives to end it.”  _

_ I pulled away from him slightly. “What did bring it on anyways?”  _

_ “In Sokovia when we stormed the HYDRA base I saw a vision. Everyone was dead, except for me. I thought maybe this would keep that from becoming a reality. This would make it so we could live normal lives. You and Steve-”  _

_ “There is no me and Steve anymore.” I said bitterly, moving my gaze to the floor.  _

_ “What? Where is that pretty boy? I’ll give him one hell of a-”  _

_ “Dad.” I stopped him, placing a hand on his chest. “It’s okay.”  _

_ “What’s wrong?” Thor asked, walking up to us.  _

_ “Steve broke up with her.” My dad answered.  _

_ “What?” Thor shouted.  _

_ “That’s not-”  _

_ “Where is he? I’ll...how did you say it?” He asked looking to my dad.  _

_ “Smack him around with your hammer? Was that it?”  _

_ “Yes. That was it.”  _

_ “Great. I’ll hold him, you swing.”  _

_ “Okay, that’s enough.” I said, placing a hand on their chests, stopping their movements. “It...It was a mutual agreement. It’s probably for the better anyways. One less thing to worry about right now.”  _

_ “Just don’t go in distracted.” My dad said. “We don’t know what we’re going into, and the last thing I need is to worry about you being distracted when you’re fighting.”  _

_ “I won’t. It’ll be nice, letting off some steam. Even though I kinda want to break his perfect face right now.” I said, clenching my fist.  _

_ “That’s my girl.” My dad said, patting my shoulder. “Just take care of yourself out there.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead before boarding the jet.  _

_ I watched as Steve walked past, following my dad into the jet.  _

_ “I meant what I said.” Thor said, drawing my attention away from him. “Just let me know and I’ll beat him around a little.”  _

_ I laughed as Thor wrapped an arm around my shoulders, walking onto the jet with me.  _

 

()()()0()()()

I still didn’t know why I kept getting told that. I mean, I was concerned for Steve, like I was the rest of the team, but this way I didn’t have to be extra worried that he would get hurt or end up dead and we wouldn’t be able to hold and comfort each other after it was over. Well, we really weren’t doing that now. So I guess it didn’t matter if we survived this or not- Oh. That’s what they meant. 

_ ‘Cap, you got incoming.’  _

_ ‘Incoming already came in.’  _ Steve said, sounding slightly out of breath.  _ ‘Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job, tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt them back. You get killed, walk it off.’ _

I ran towards the bridge, knowing there’d be the most civilian traffic there. I jumped on to a police car, taking out the robots that were shooting at them before continuing on my journey. 

“Momma!” I heard a little boy scream and stopped, turning in a full circle before I saw him. 

He couldn’t have been older than 6, sandy haired and light eyed. I felt like I was punched in the stomach, staring at him, tears slightly blurring my vision. He was standing in the middle of an alley  several robots flying towards him. I snapped myself out of it and kicked it into high gear, managing to get to him just in time to put up a protective bubble around us as the robots fired. I held the little boy to my chest, part of the Aether branching out to tear the robots apart. 

“Do you know where your momma is?” I asked him as the remaining pieces of the robots fell around us. He shook his head. “Okay. Climb on.” I said, bending down so he could climb on my back. “We’re gonna get you somewhere safe.” 

I ran towards the bridge, following the sounds of shooting and explosions. I ducked behind a building that people were running into to avoid getting shot, putting the little boy down. 

“You ready?” I asked, looking down at him, taking his hand. 

He nodded up at me, wiping his tears. 

I ran from behind the building, pushing him towards the entrance. “Get him inside!” I shouted, watching as a woman herded the little boy inside, turning just in time to catch the arm of one of the robots. 

I shot the Aether through him, my hand still holding his arm, which I promptly threw through the center of another. I ran away from the building, trying to draw the robots away from it. And it was working rather well. 

()()()0()()()

_ “So, you and the Captain?” Wanda asked as we walked side by side from the quinjet.  _

_ “Well, we were. Now...I don’t know.”  _

_ “You still love him.” It wasn’t a question.  _

_ “Yeah. I always will. But things got kinda strained between us and I don’t know now what will happen.”  _

_ “I’m sorry.” She said, turning to me.  _

_ “No, it’s not your fault. We were kinda rocky anyways. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Now it’s just one less thing to worry about.”  _

_ “Just don’t let it distract you. You’re more powerful than me, but all it takes is a half a second, and bad things can happen.”  _

()()()0()()()

_ ‘The next wave is gonna hit any minute.’  _ Steve said as we got a small break from fighting robots.  _ ‘What do you got, Stark?’  _

_ ‘Huh? Nothing great. Maybe a way to blow up the city. That’ll keep it from impacting the surface if you guys get clear.’  _

_ ‘I asked for a solution, not an escape plan.’  _

_ ‘Impact radius is getting bigger every second. We’re gonna have to make a choice.’  _

I jogged out of the building I was in, spotting Steve and Nat. I jogged the rest of the way towards them, stopping slightly behind them. 

“Where else am I gonna get a view like this?” I heard Nat say. 

_ ‘Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It’s about to get better.’  _ I heard Fury’s voice over the comms. 

Then a helicarrier appeared out of the clouds, pulling up next to the flying chunk of the city that we were on. Pietro appeared next to us, watching the spectacle unfold in front of us. 

_ ‘Nice, right? Pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She’s dusty but she’ll do.’  _

“Fury, you son of a bitch.” Steve said. 

_ ‘Ooh. You kiss your mother with that mouth?’  _

The side of the helicarrier opened, several smaller ships flying out towards the city. 

“This is SHIELD?” Pietro asked. 

“This is what SHIELD is supposed to be.” Steve said. 

“This is not so bad.” 

The smaller ships docked themselves on the side of the city, ready to load civilians. 

“Let’s load them up.” Steve said, running back towards the buildings full of civilians. 

I followed him, ushering people towards the ships, ready to protect them from any robots. 

_ ‘Thor I have a plan.’  _ My dad said. 

_ ‘We’re out of time. They’re coming for the core.’  _

_ ‘Rhodey, get the rest of the people on board that carrier. Avengers, time to work for a living.’  _

I nodded to Clint, running towards the church, taking out all the robots in the way. Thor walked over to me when I arrived. 

“Are you hurt anywhere?” He asked, checking me over. 

“I’m fine.” I said, waving him off. 

“Romanoff. You and Banner better not be playing ‘hide the zucchini.’” My dad said. 

_ ‘Relax, shellhead. Not all of us can fly.’  _ There was a crash to our left and a bulldozer pulled up next to the church. 

“What’s the drill.” Nat asked as she walked up to us. 

“This is the drill.” My dad said, pointing behind him at the machine in the center of the church. “If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose.” 

The Hulk showed up at just the same time as Ultron. 

“Is that the best you can do?” Thor shouted at him as we all stood around the core. 

Ultron held his hand up and suddenly hundreds of robots were running at us. 

“You had to ask.” Steve said. 

“This is the best I can do.” Ultron said. “This is exactly what I wanted. All of you against all of me. How can you possibly hope to stop me?”

“Well, like the old man said, together.” My dad said. 

Hulk roared and the robots started running towards us. We all fought, all ten of us protecting the core as best we could. Together. To some it might have looked like chaos, but we all knew what we were doing, and we worked around each other, destroying robot after robot that came at us. Vision flew above us, fighting Ultron. 

Vision shot a beam from the stone in his forehead, sending Ultron from the church. Thor followed, shooting lightning at him as my dad shot his repulsors at him. Ultron tried to hold them off, but it was too much. They stopped, Ultron’s face mangled and slightly melted. 

“You know, with the benefit of hindsight-” Hulk charged forward, punching Ultron across the city. 

He turned towards the surrounding robots and they all turned and ran, Hulk chasing after them. The robots took off, flying from the city. 

“They’ll try to leave the city.” Thor said. 

_ ‘We can’t let them, not even ne. Rhodey.’  _ My dad said.

_ ‘I’m on it.’  _

Vision flew up as well, helping Rhodey. 

“We gotta move out.” Steve said to the rest of us. “Even I can tell the air is getting thin. You guys get to the boats. I’ll sweep for stragglers. Be right behind you.” 

“What about the core?” Clint asked. 

“I’ll protect it.” Wanda said. “It’s my job.” 

Clint, Nat and I ran towards the boats, helping the last of the people onto them. I turned around when I felt something, a disturbance not far off. 

“Skye!” Nat shouted as I ran away from them towards it. 

I ignored her, running through the streets until I found Ultron moving towards the quinjet. 

“Hey!” I shouted, gaining his attention. “Don’t even think about it.” 

“What are you going to do to stop me?” He asked, and if he could, I was sure he’d be smirking. 

“This.” I said before running at him, jumping on him so I could get my hands around his head. 

My hands started glowing as I pushed the Aether through him, pulling him apart from the inside. He grabbed me, tossing me back. I stumbled, falling back on my side. 

“Cute little trick. But you’ll never stop me.” 

I stood up, shooting the Aether at him, but he dodged out of the way, firing back at me. I spun at the impact, hitting the ground on my stomach, pain erupting through my side. 

“I would kill you now, but you’re just going to die anyway.” 

I could barely move as he clunked away, climbing into the quinjet. I grit my teeth as it took off, crawling inch by inch across the ground. I tried to keep off my side, but the pain was getting to be too much, dots littering my vision. I stopped moving, laying my head against my arm as I came to terms with the idea that I was going to die there. No one was coming for me, and when the city fell, I was going with it. 

 


	103. The City is Falling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is super depressing. Just gonna warn you...

**_‘Steve?’_ **

**_‘Skye? Where are you?’_ **

**_‘Tell...my dad...that I love him...’_ **

**_‘Skye. Tell me what’s going on.’_ **

**_‘Steve, I’m so sorry. Just know that I-’_ **

I was falling. I knew that much. The wind was whipping around me, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. My body was limp, lifting off the ground as the city fell. I could hear Steve yelling in my head, desperate for a response, but I couldn’t give him one. There was nothing to say. I’d told him what I needed to, and now I could die in peace. 

Suddenly everything was exploding. I was falling faster now, no longer inhibited by the laws of physics, gravity pressing down on me instead, sending me plummeting towards Earth along with the debris of the city. I couldn’t see where I was falling, leaving me only with a sense of what was going to crash on top of me, though I’d be dead by the time I hit the ground anyways. There wasn’t much time left for me. 

**3RD POV**

“Stark!” Steve almost yelled into his comm. His heart was racing, panic filling his chest. He had to take a moment to breathe, his chest constricting in a way that it hadn’t since before he’d been given the serum. He felt like he was having an asthma attack. 

He needed to breathe. But how could he when the future mother of his child had just died. He didn’t think even the Aether could survive something like that. She’d sounded hurt when she’d called to him. God, he was stupid. 

A medic was talking to him, trying to give him an oxygen mask, but he was far off, his vision tunneling. He regretted everything he’d said. Everything he’d done to hurt her. All he’d ever done was get her hurt, and she’d willingly put herself out there to do it. She’d been by his side when everything had fallen. She ran when she was scared, and he’d blamed her for it, when he was the reason she was scared in the first place. He’d pushed her away, he’d blatantly lied. Told her he didn’t see a future with her, even after seeing a vision of their son. He’d known that part of the vision had been true. Whatever Wanda had done to him had been cleaned out by the Aether, and instead he got a glimpse at the future. The woman he loved was going to give him a son named James. A sandy haired little boy with his blue eyes and her nose. A healthy little boy who could run and play. Nothing he could ever do as a child. 

“Stark.” He pleaded, his voice cracking, tears welling in his eyes. He’d been standing on the ground when she’d called to him. She was going to tell him something when she was literally sucked right out from under him.

_ “What is it, Cap?”  _

“Skye never made it on a boat.” 

There was silence on the other line He felt a couple of the tears fall, quickly wiping a hand over his face to hide them. 

Tony had been flying through the debris when he’d nearly burst an eardrum from Steve yelling at him. He’d sounded desperate, but he was nearly out of the falling city when Steve’s voice had nearly deafened him, so he waited until he was out of the Sokovia-shower. 

_ “Stark.” _ Steve sounded so broken and Tony’s heart clenched slightly. A small dose of panic rose at what could possibly have one of the strongest men he knew sounding like that. 

“What is it, Cap?” Tony asked, flying towards the helicarrier. 

_ “Skye never made it on a boat.”  _

His heart nearly gave out as he came to a screeching halt in midair. It took him a moment to process what he’d heard. His daughter hadn’t made it on a boat. She’d been on the city when it...He felt like he was choking, his vision tunneling as anxiety filled him. 

“Boss, I recommend some deep breathing.” He barely registered FRIDAY’s voice. 

He inhaled slowly, trying to quell the panic. He spun back around, flying directly into the still falling rubble. “FRIDAY, find her.” 

“Yes, boss.” 

FRIDAY scanned the entire area, water, land and all, trying desperately to find his little girl. 

“Come on, baby. Where are you?” He murmured, searching with his eyes as well, though it didn’t do much good. 

“Directly below you, boss.” FRIDAY said and Tony stopped, checking above him before diving into the water, using his thrusters to power through the water. “10 meters down.” FRIDAY said. 

And there she was. Barely recognizable in the dark water, floating towards the bottom, the water around her turning red. He gulped for air when he saw the cause of the bleeding, pushing harder to get to her. 

“Power running low.” FRIDAY said. 

“I don’t care.” Tony said, catching his daughter in his arms. “Give us everything you’ve got to get us out.” 

He cradled her to his chest as they were shooting out of the water, taking off towards the helicarrier. He didn’t want to let her go as he landed on the landing strip, setting her down long enough to ditch his armor before he was falling right beside her. The air was thin, and it was a shock to him, but he had bigger things to worry about. 

He started CPR, pressing on her chest as hard as he could to try and get her to breathe again. He ignored the gaping wound in her side, nearly the entire right side of her abdomen blown off. He kept up the chest compressions, no matter how tired he was. He was staring down at five year old Skye, when she’d fallen and scraped her knee. He’d been there to put some Neosporin on it and a Ninja Turtles band-aid, then kiss it better. When she was ten and cut her foot getting out of the swimming pool. He’d been there to put a Transformers band-aid on it and kiss it better. When she was thirteen and decided she wanted to try skateboarding and had fallen in front of the house. He’d held her hand while the doctor cleaned the rocks and dirt out before giving her stitches on her arm. When she was fifteen and tried to learn to walk in high heels and fell and scraped her elbow. He’d been there to rub Neosporin on it and kiss it better, even though she didn’t want him to. This was his little girl, and he wasn’t about to lose her now. 


	104. Awakening

Tony was frustrated beyond belief. The anxiety and the panic and the frustration was eating away at him. He raised his fists, hitting his daughter's chest as hard as he could, not caring if he broke anything, knowing that could be fixed later. Suddenly she coughed, water pouring from her mouth. He breathed a small sigh of relief, turning her on her left side, trying to help her clear her lungs. Her side was still bleeding, the blood mixing with the water rolling off of her. She coughed continued coughing, spitting up blood as she clutched at him.

He didn't want to let her go as the medics finally arrived, strapping her on a stretcher before rushing her inside. Tony followed numbly. He was covered in water and her blood, but she was breathing for now. The medics wouldn't let him follow anymore so he stumbled towards the control room, not quite sure how he was still upright.

"Tony-"

He wasn't sure why he did it at first. He'd stumbled into the room, Cap standing to his feet when he saw the billionaire, wanting to know if Skye was alright. But Steve had barely gotten any words out when Tony's fist met his face.

"You were supposed to protect her!" Tony yelled, Steve stumbling back a step at the force of Tony's blow. "You promised me you'd keep her safe!" Tony grabbed Steve by the straps of his uniform, pulling the taller man down so they were nose to nose. "You promised me. What changed? What did she do to you that you would hurt her so bad..." Tony bit back a sob, his breath hitching slightly. "You told me you loved her more than anything!" Tony shoved the soldier back, Fury stepping in between them as several agents held Tony back, Natasha stepping in front of Steve.

"Everyone needs to calm down." Fury said, eyeing the billionaire and the soldier. Tony sunk to the floor, his face in his hands. "It's been a long day, and you both need some rest. We are helping Skye to the best of our abilities, until we can get her to a hospital. Unfortunately, now that Banner is MIA with a quinjet, we have very limited knowledge of how her powers work, and how she will recover from this. So all we can do is pray the medics can keep her stable enough to get to a hospital. Now both of you need to go to your separate corners and rest until we get there. I will not have any fighting on my helicarrier. There's been enough of that today."

"Sir, Thor has landed on the roof." An agent said to Fury.

"Captain Rogers, I suggest you separate yourself and find a safe place to wait out the rest of our trip."

Steve let Natasha lead him off as a medic checked Tony over. He assured the medic he was fine...well physically before heading towards the med wing. He ran into Thor who immediately knew something was wrong.

"It's Skye." And he had the demigod's complete attention.

Tony told him what had happened and the god of thunder looked ready to throw his hammer through a wall. Or Steve. Tony knew he had no right to blame Steve, but he was still mad at the soldier for just dumping his daughter like trash, as any parent would be, and so he just kinda took it out on him. He had a lot more to say to the soldier, and a lot more punches to throw, but his daughter was more important. And she wouldn't want him beating on Steve for something like this. No, she'd do it herself.

**SKYE POV  
** I wasn't quite sure where I was. It was dark, the darkness seeming to go on forever, except for a single light that shone over me, and went wherever I went. I didn't know if I was alone, but I was too scared to move. So many things were coming to mind that could be hiding in the darkness.

"Lost, are you?"

Like that.

I spun around, searching in the darkness for anything, and then I spotted it. A small ray of golden light that was getting closer to me. And under it...

"It's been a long time, Skye. You've been off saving the world."

"I thought you were dead. Thor said-"

"Thor knows nothing. For all you know I'm inside your head and you're making this up."

"H-how do I know if that's true. You're not the most trustworthy."

"Try to change it. It's only dark because you want it to be."

"I...I can't." I said, turning away from him, staring back out into the darkness.

"Because you don't want to. You're trapped in here with everything you dream up until you can figure out how to get out."

"What's happening?"

"You're dying."

"You've told me that before."

"You were drowning and you've lost a lot of blood. You went a long time without oxygen. They don't know if you'll be able to make it back out, or if you'll still be you when you do."

"W-what does that mean?"

He turned away, walking back in the direction he came from. "Have fun in your darkness, little Princess." And he was gone.

I turned, looking around in the darkness until I saw another light approaching me.

"Skye?" I heard my dad's voice.

"Dad?" He was getting closer. "Dad!" I tried to run to him, but hit what felt like a glass wall. I felt in front of me, my hands sliding over the invisible barrier between us. "Dad!" I screamed, tears running down my face. He kept calling me, searching for me. "Daddy." I sank down to my knees. "Daddy, I'm scared. I don't wanna die."

**3RD POV**

"Well...that's the thing. We don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

They'd landed somewhere in Europe, the survivors that needed medical attention, as well as Skye being carted off to a local hospital. Tony and Thor had followed as far as they could before she was taken back to surgery. They'd been at the hospital almost all night when a doctor had finally come back out to talk to them.

"Before you landed we were debriefed on your daughter's condition and...abilities. Dr. Banner left some notes on how to possibly activate her...powers, but we can't seem to get it work. We've done everything we can to stabilize her."

"So what? It's just...gone?"

"That's what it looks like."

Tony took a shaky breath in, turning away from the doctor, running a hand through his hair.

"I could see if I could get it to work." Tony nearly jumped, hearing Vision's voice. "The Infinity Stones react to one another. I can see if it is still inside her, and try to reactivate its power."

Tony looked to Thor who gave him a reassuring nod. "It's our best hope right now."

Tony sighed. "Fine. Go ahead."

He nodded to the doctor, who led Vision back into the operating room.

**SKYE POV**

"Someone help!" I screamed, still on the floor crying.

' _There's no one to help you now.'_ A familiar booming voice sounded in my head.

I found myself laying on my back on a familiar meteor, staring up at the starry sky. A familiar god entered my vision, the last person, or alien, I ever wanted to see. I was surrounded in blood as he smirked down at me, the Aether floating beside him.

"You could have avoided this, Skye." He said, waving his hand over the Aether, and it turned from liquid into a stone. "Your power is mine now." He took the stone, placing it on the golden gauntlet on his hand. "Say goodbye to your friends."

"No." I gasped out, blood pooling in my mouth.

Suddenly a bright light shot over me and there was another figure there. I turned my head to see Vision floating right behind me.

"Release her."

"Ah the mind stone. That is where you have ended up." Thanos reached for Vision, but Vision shot him with a beam from the stone.

Thanos stumbled back and Vision kneeled next to me.

"It is just a dream, Skye. You must wake up now." He said, cupping my face.

I felt power surge in me, my body lifting off the ground as the stone ripped itself from Thanos' gauntlet, turning into liquid before encasing me, cutting of my vision.

I shot up into a sitting position, immediately crying out at the pain that ripped through my side. I fell against the body to my left, who still had their hand on the top of my head.

"You need to lay back down." A familiar voice said, and when I finally let the hands push me back on the operating table, I saw it was Vision.

"Y-you, and...and-"

"Shh." He said, placing a finger to my lips. "It was just a dream. You trapped yourself in your mind with the Aether, keeping yourself from healing. You were badly hurt by Ultron. A normal person would have died instantly."

"But I guess I'm not normal." I said, looking up at the ceiling.

"No. I have found you are not. But that is why the stone chose you. Because you are special, Skye Stark. More than you, or even I understand at this moment."

He turned to walk out of the operating room, but I stopped him.

"Vision?" He turned back to face me. "Thank you."

He nodded to me before leaving, the doctors and nurses coming back into the room.


	105. Poor Steve

“You did what?” 

“I...punched Steve in the face.” 

“Without me?” 

“W-yeah. And Thor kinda confronted him too.” 

“How? When?” 

**24 HOURS EARLIER, SOME HOSPITAL IN SOME COUNTRY IN EASTERN EUROPE**

“I have a lot of things I could say about you, Rogers.” Thor said as he had poor Steve pushed up against a wall, his toes just an inch above the ground. “But letting my niece get hurt when you  _ promised  _ to keep her safe?” Steve was amazed they hadn’t drawn a crowd yet, though he would have avoided the angry god as well, if he would have had a choice. “And then having the gall to walk in her wanting to talk to her?” 

“I wanted to see if she was alright. I never said I wanted to talk to her.” Steve’s voice was strained from Thor’s arm digging into his chest. 

“Thor, let him down.” Natasha said, trying to get the angry god to let poor Steve go. “Let him breathe before you pummel him.” 

Steve sent Natasha a look when his feet were back on the floor while trying to catch his breath. Thor was right back in his face again, pushing him back against the wall, but thankfully, his feet were still on the ground. “I want to know exactly what happened.” 

“Hold it! If you two are gonna fight, you need to take it outside.” A nurse said, walking up to the pair. Both men commended her on her bravery. 

Thor growled, grabbing Steve by the front of his shirt, dragging him down the stairs and into the parking garage. 

“I want to know every detail of why you broke my niece’s heart, and why she almost died.” Thor said, pointing at Steve with Mjolnir. 

Steve sighed, knowing he wasn’t getting out of this without more bruises. “I had a vision about our son.” 

Suddenly he was flying back, hitting a column in the parking garage. He coughed, getting back to his feet as he shook the blurriness from his vision. He was pushed right back into the hole he’d created by Thor. 

“She’s pregnant?” 

“Not right now! Later, though-” He was thrown across the pavement, rolling to a stop. “And I panicked. Pushed her away because I thought I couldn’t give her that. I was scared about what that meant, so I decided to break it off with her. I can’t give her that right now, and she told me that maybe she didn’t want it.” Thor lifted him so his back was against another column. “I got caught up in the past and didn’t think about what the future could hold. I regret it, okay? I wish I hadn’t ever said anything to her. Thinking that she was dead nearly killed me too.” 

“Yeah, well join the club.” Thor said, releasing him. 

“I wasn’t near her when I found out she wasn’t on the boat. I didn’t have time to go looking for her because she didn’t contact me until too late. I would have gone looking for her. I would have fallen with her if I couldn’t get her back to the boat in time, had I been able to find her. But she’s alive. That’s all I wanted to know. I know I’m the last person she wants to talk to right now, and I don’t blame her.” 

Thor turned his back to the soldier, taking in what he’d heard. “The boy, how old was he?” 

“No older than eight.” Steve said, shrugging. “Why?” 

Thor just shook his head, walking back towards the hospital, leaving Steve alone in the parking garage rather confused and sore. 

**PRESENT TIME, SKYE POV**

“Wow. Poor guy. You really beat up on him.” 

“Yeah, but I wanna know why he broke up with you in the first place. The last time I saw you two, you seemed pretty close. Then it all just kinda fell apart all of a sudden.” 

“It was the Maximoff. Wanda. What Steve saw in his vision when she manipulated his mind.” 

“What did he see?”

“The past. What could have been.” I shrugged. “How he could have had a life and a family with Peggy.” 

“So the a vision about a past flame from 70 years ago made him break up with you? Sweetheart, maybe you two shouldn’t be dating in the first place.” 

“Dad, it wasn’t that. It was...” I debated telling him. He’d probably freak out, cause a scene, then end up punching Steve again. I sighed. “He saw our son.” 

“He saw-your what now?” He leaned closer to me, giving me a look. 

“He saw our son in his vision.” I said louder. 

My dad was silent for a moment, relaxed back in his chair before he sat up straight. “Yup. I’m gonna kill him.” 

“Daddy, wait.” I grabbed his hand, pulling him back over to the bed. “I’ve seen him too. Different times, and he’s always different in the visions, but Steve and I are always married when I see it.” 

“Married?” 

My dad moved to get up again, but I held him back. “Dad, it’s gonna happen, whether it’s to Steve or someone else.” 

“Do you still love him?” 

That question surprised me. “Do I-ye-I still care about him...” My dad gave me a look. “Is it that obvious?” 

“Pretty. Though, I doubt he’d see it, so you’re golden. But I think a little time apart might be good for you. I’m having one of the old Stark facilities in New York be reconstructed into a New Avengers Training Facility. I’m sure you’ll want to be in on that. When, of course, you don’t have a gaping hole in your side.” 

“It’s not gaping anymore.” I said, looking down at my side. “The skin’s just a little scorched is all. It healed pretty well, though it still kinda hurts if I move wrong.” 

My dad smiled, taking my hand. “I’m just happy you’re okay. I thought you were dead when Cap told me you never made it on a boat. I was terrified that I’d lost you.” 

“But you didn’t.” I said, smiling at him. “I’m still here, and I’m not going anywhere.” 

“I’m glad, sweetheart.” He kissed the back of my hand. “I’m glad.” 

 


	106. People Change

Tony found Steve in the parking garage, sitting on the ground against a column. Tony hauled him to his feet, pushing him back against the column. Steve didn’t try to fight him, wallowing in his own pity party. 

“Don’t think I’m done with you, Rogers. I want to know what she did to you. Why you just shoved her away like she was nothing.” 

“She didn’t do anything.” Steve said, letting his eyes trail up to the billionaire’s face. “I’ve done nothing but put her in danger since we’ve been together. I had to take her into hiding with me, almost got her killed multiple times, then let her get taken away by HYDRA. Then almost lost her on the helicarrier...if you hadn’t been there...” Steve swallowed the lump in his throat. “I let her go off to Asgard herself and she came back with powers she doesn’t even know the extent of. I’ve watched her fall apart so many times because of the power living inside her...I saw our deaths...I saw our son...I got caught up in the past. What could have been, had I not been frozen in the ice for 70 years. I would have started a life with Peggy, raised up a family...I don’t know how long I would have...will live. I’m not as okay as people think I am. I was scared I’d just keep getting her hurt, so I used the vision as an excuse. I don’t know if it’s possible for either of us to have children at this point, and it’s not something I want to try. If the Aether thought it was attacking her...it would be more hurt I caused her. I panicked, and almost got her killed because of it. I wasn’t looking out for her like I should have been. She told me...” Steve swallowed the lump in his throat, blinking back tears. “She told me to tell you she loves you. Before the city fell. I would have gone to her. I would have fallen with her, had I known she wasn’t there.” 

Tony stepped back, releasing Steve. He mulled over the blonde’s words, taking in what he’d heard. He’d shared the same thoughts many times. Blaming himself for putting Skye in danger multiple times. He was the one who started it. She could have had a normal life. But now here she was, almost dying becoming a normal thing for her. 

“She deserves a normal life, Tony.” 

“It’s a little late for that. She won’t have a normal life because of that thing inside her.” 

“You know it can’t be removed. You heard Thor. If we try to take it away from her, she would die.” 

Tony sighed. The soldier was right. “I know. It’s up to her. She’s in control of her life.” Tony looked over to Steve. “And while I’d love to throw you around more, that’s not up to me either. You need to talk to her as well. Don’t just leave it like you did. I know she loves you. And she probably always will. You’re everything to her, but I also think a little space would be good for you two. She’s getting discharged tomorrow and we’re heading back to New York. Your welcome to fly back with us. You can talk at the tower.” Tony went to walk back into the hospital, but stopped, turning back towards the super soldier. “Steve?” Steve turned to look at Tony. “Do you still love her?” 

Steve sighed, taking a moment to blink back his tears before answering. 

**SKYE POV**

I was discharged the next day, my dad insisted on using a wheelchair, even though I’d told him a thousand times I could walk myself. Thor was at my side as well, asking if I was okay, if I needed anything, if I was hungry, if I was thirsty, if I needed something to punch. I assured him I was fine, even when he insisted on carrying me onto the quinjet. 

I looked away as Steve got on as well, sitting on the opposite side of the jet. Most of the team had gone back to New York already, heading their separate ways. Those who didn’t have a separate way to go, were staying at the tower. 

My first instinct was to head to Steve’s room, but I quickly reminded myself we weren’t together anymore, and instead headed up to my room. I hadn’t been in there in a long time. Most of my stuff was still in Steve’s room, and I’d need to get it back before too long. Though, first things first, I needed a shower. Badly. 

It was lonely, showering by myself again. I’d grown so used to having Steve around that it just seemed weird to be alone. My body was almost completely healed, and around this time Steve and I would be celebrating with a little post-victory sex. It made me a little sad that we probably wouldn’t do that again, either. 

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I walked out of the bathroom, finding Steve sitting on my bed. 

“How did you get in here?” I asked, clutching the towel tightly. Though I wasn’t sure why. It’s not like he hasn’t seen it before. 

Steve blushed a little, looking away. “I-I came to talk to you. I figured sooner was better than later.” 

“You could have done it at the hospital.” I said, moving to my closet to dig for clothes. 

“Your dad and Thor wouldn’t let me.” 

“I heard they beat you up pretty good.” I said through the cracked closet door as I changed into a pair of sweats. 

“Yeah. I kind of deserved it though.” His eyes were on me as I left the closet, walking closer to him. “I wouldn’t be mad if you beat on me a little too.” 

I sighed, sitting down next to him. “As much as I want to, I know it won’t help anything.” We were both silent, staring at the carpet floor. “I just want to know why. Why did you push me away? Why-” I stopped short, swallowing the lump in my throat. 

“I was scared.” Steve said. “I’ve done nothing but hurt you since we’ve been together. I let you leave to Asgard by yourself and you came back with a power that’s feeding off of you. That’s nearly torn you apart more times than I can count. Then when SHIELD fell...I put you in danger over and over again. I let you get taken by HYDRA. Just the thought of what they would have done-” His fist clenched on his leg and I almost reached over and grabbed it, but I kept myself still. “If your dad hadn’t been there when you were thrown out of the helicarrier...I was so caught up...” He ran a hand down his face. “And you almost died, Skye. If you hadn’t had the Aether, you would have been. You deserve so much more than this. Than me. I got caught up in the past. What would have been, had I not been frozen in the ice. I don’t know how long I’ll live, how long I would have, had I made it out of the war. We may not have ever met each other. You would have had a chance at a normal life still.” 

“What makes you think I want a normal life? It’s not possible for me anymore, Steve. Not with the Aether, and even if there was a way to remove it, I still wouldn’t be able to live normally. After everything that’s happened...” I shook my head, sighing. “We were brought together for a reason.” I said quietly. “The Aether willingly let you in. It branched itself off into you because it knows...” I trailed off, not wanting to say the wrong thing. What I really wanted to say. “It knows something. Something that we don’t.” 

“That there’s a chance we could have a family together.” 

I thought back to all the visions I’d had. Steve and I with a family. With our son. “A little sandy haired boy named James.” 

“With my eyes and your nose.” 

“I don’t know if it’s possible now. With the Aether...if it thought the baby was hostile...if it’s even possible to get pregnant with the Aether.” I shook my head. “There’s a lot I don’t understand about how it works. But we’ve got bigger things to worry about than starting a family right now. We should focus on ourselves.” I turned towards him, looking at the side of his face. “I know you’re not okay, Steve. I know better than anyone. Your nightmares are getting worse. Some days you can’t even be five feet from your shield. Maybe...” I put my hand on his arm. “Maybe you should talk to Sam some more. I know you think finding Bucky will help you, but it’s just going to make things worse.” Steve stood up, taking a few steps from the bed. I stood up as well, staring at his back. “He’s not the same, Steve. And he won’t ever be.” 

“How do you know that?” He asked, turning his head to the side to look over his shoulder. “How do you know he’s not already getting better? You don’t know these things.” 

“I do.” 

“Why? Because you know everything?” Those words stung a little. 

“Because I’ve seen it.” It was silent between us for a moment. “Ask my dad to tell you about my mom. How much she’s changed since she was experimented on. Hell, ask Thor to tell you about her before she was cast out of Asgard. Then we can go see her now and then maybe you can understand how much people can change. You may get glimpses of them, but they’re not always going to be there. You’re not there all the time.” He turned around, staring down at me. “You talk in your sleep, Steve. I’ve sat awake, listening to you. Giving out orders, fighting HYDRA. I recorded it, saved it a dozen different places. JARVIS had it at one point. Ask Vision, he’s probably seen it. I know I’m not the same either. Not just physically. I get scared sometimes, to sleep. Afraid I’ll be watching us die again, scared of what the future holds. Scared...” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Scared our family won’t be there anymore when I look.” 

“Skye...” Steve took a step forward. 

“You're not alone, Steve. You have people who...people who love you. Care about you. You can’t just throw them away. Nat, Sam, Clint. They’d follow you in a heartbeat. Fight for you, whatever you were fighting for.” 

“What about you?” 

I was silent for a moment, thinking. “I’d like to say I would. If you would have asked before this whole thing started, I would have said yes in a heartbeat. I would have died for you, Steve. But now...now I’m not so sure. It depends.” 

“On what?” 

“What you’re fighting for.” 


	107. O

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really fucking depressing. Seriously, I don't even know why I wrote this. I know I said this story was on hold, but I got inspiration. And yes, it was inspired by the song "O" by Coldplay. So just keep that in mind.

“You okay?” 

I spun around, seeing my dad behind me. I was sitting out on the balcony, looking out over New York. It had been almost a week since Steve and I had gone our separate ways, Steve heading back to D.C. until the facility was finished, and I stayed in New York. Something about it seemed familiar, but I knew it was for the best. 

“Yeah.” I said before turning back around in my seat, pulling my knees back to my chest. 

“Skye, talk to me.” My dad said, moving to the chair next to me. 

“I almost died, Dad.” I said after a moment of silence. “I would have, had you not gone back for me. I thought...I was so sure...But it wasn’t scary. It was...” 

“Peaceful?” My dad offered, looking over at me. 

“Yeah. I wasn’t worried. I was so sure I was going to die. But then I wasn’t.” 

“You miss him, don’t you.” 

I nodded. “He said he would have fallen with me. He would...he would have died with me. You don’t just get over something like that.” My dad hummed his agreement. “Maybe I should retire.” I said, leaning back in the seat. 

“What?” My dad sat up straighter.

“It’s been great, you know. Saving the world, almost getting killed, but...there’s too much memory. All of this...it’s just...too much.” 

“Hey.” My dad grabbed my hand. “Give it a few weeks. The training facility will be up and running and you can move there, have your own space. No one will make you see Steve. You can train, work on your powers. I think it will be good for you. And maybe, things will work out.” 

“What? I fall in love with someone else?” 

“It’s possible.” He said, looking sideways at me. “Or you fall in love with the same person again.” 

I sat in silence for a while, thinking about what he said. I knew my dad had some disagreements when it came to Steve, a lot of it stemmed from his childhood. But he wants me to be happy. And if that means with Steve, then maybe he could learn to like Steve beyond a mild toleration as a teammember. Maybe I could learn to like Steve again. Maybe my dad was right. 

I spent the remaining weeks with my dad in the tower, which he kept us fairly busy. Trying to keep my mind off of Steve. Until the phone call came. My dad was working on updates on my car when FRIDAY had announced the call. I was upstairs in my room, rearranging the things I’d brought back from Steve’s room when my dad had called me down to the lab. I had been a little concerned, FRIDAY saying it was urgent. 

“Skye.” My dad said, moving me so I was sitting on a stool. “Your mom’s gone.” 

“What?” I asked, a little confused. 

“I just got off the phone with the hospital. She died last night after swallowing her own tongue.” 

A sob left my mouth and I slapped a hand over my mouth. My dad pulled me into a hug, and I leaned on him. I didn’t know her well, but she was still my mom. The woman who birthed me. She may have been out of her mind, but it still hurt. I sat and cried for a while. It felt good getting it out. 

“I should tell Thor.” I said, after calming down a little. “He needs to know.” 

I wiped my face, pulling away from my dad. I could see the tears in his eyes as well. He nodded, letting me go. I rode the elevator down to where Thor was, in the kitchen. 

“Thor?” I asked, getting off the elevator. 

“Skye.” I heard his voice, and followed, finding him in the middle of making a sandwich. “Is everything alright?” He asked when he saw my face. “Is it the Captain?” 

“No.” I said shaking my head. I took a breath, but thought about what I was going to say. “Maybe...maybe you should sit down.” I dragged him over to the table, sitting down next to him, turning so I was facing him. “It’s my mom. She’s...she’s dead.” 

He leaned back, his face falling. I stared down at my hands, giving him a moment to process everything. 

“How?” 

“The hospital said she swallowed her tongue last night.” 

Thor leaned his head on his hand. “I’m sure Heimdall knows of this.” 

“And I’m sure he’s made everyone aware.” I said. “We’ll probably have a small get together here, if you want to join us.” 

“I want to. For your sake.” I smiled at him the best I could, feeling tears start to form in my eyes. 

He pulled me into a hug, crushing me into his chest. I sat there for a while, not moving. I couldn’t hardly believe it. She had died. Killed herself. I knew there had to be another reason. I mean, she was crazy, but I didn’t think it was that bad. She didn’t seem that bad. I pulled away from Thor, wiping my face. 

“I’m gonna go...up to my room.” I said, sniffing a little. 

Thor nodded. “Of course. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask.” 

“Thank you.” I said, before heading to the elevator. 

I stayed in my room for the rest of the day. The rest of the Avengers in the tower were notified of the situation, and I accepted their condolences through FRIDAY. I stared at Steve’s name in my phone until late in the night. I kept talking myself out of calling him, knowing how we ended things. But he at least deserved to know. 

_ “Hello?”  _

My breath hitched and I couldn’t speak. I could feel the tears welling, ready to fall. 

_ “Skye, is everything okay?”  _

“No.” I managed to squeak before I was sobbing. 

_ “What’s going on? Are you hurt?”  _ I could hear the concern in his voice, which only made me cry harder.  _ “Skye? Talk to me.”  _

“My mom. She’s dead.” I managed to get out. 

He was silent for a moment.  _ “Oh, Skye. I’m so sorry.”  _ He breathed. 

“She died last night. The hospital said she swallowed her tongue.” 

_ “Do you need anything? Do you want me to come to New York?”  _

Yes! My brain was screaming. Yes, I need you and I want you to come to me and I want you to hold me and make everything okay again! I want to cry on your shoulder as you tell me everything’s going to be okay and then cuddle with me as we fall asleep together. I want you there when I have a nightmare and can’t sleep. I miss your warmth and the way you murmur lines from the Captain America USO show in your sleep. And the way you hold me after a nightmare, like I’m the only thing keeping you on the Earth. 

“We’re going to have a small get together here in a few days. If you want to come to that, you can.” 

_ “Okay. Skye, I’m so sorry. I know it’s not easy.”  _

“Thanks, Steve.” I said, sniffing. “I’ll call you when I have more details. Let you know.” 

_ “Okay. I’ll talk to you soon, then.”  _

“Yeah. Talk to you soon.” 

 


	108. Insane Ramblings

Three days. 

My dad and I had flown to California to finish up the final paperwork, get her body released. We had her cremated, and my dad buried her at her favorite spot, under a palm tree near the beach. We stood for a few minutes, just staring out at the waves. It was early, so the beach was relatively empty, the sun just barely coming up over the hills. 

“How was your meeting with Pepper?” I asked as we walked back to the car. 

“Not great. She says she has a lot to do, but she’ll try to get to New York in time for the mourning party.” 

That’s what my dad had taken to call it. We were going to sit around with people we knew and be sad. We weren’t having a funeral. It was a mourning party. It would be hard for us. Thor had taken the lost pretty hard, dumping rain on the Greater New York area for two days straight now. We were worried it would start flooding there had been so much rain, and a stray thunderstorm every now and then. I knew this loss would be hard on him. He had known her the longest, had lost her once, and now she was really gone. There was no finding her again. 

My dad had taken it pretty hard too. The first woman he ever loved, the woman he shared so much with was gone. He’d been there, watched her deteriorate. Cared for her when she didn’t know it. When she was out of her mind. He only wanted the best for her, and the best wasn’t enough. 

“Skye.” My dad stopped me before I could get in the car. He looked down at me for a moment, his eyes hidden by sunglasses, but I knew there were tears in them. “The, uh, Doctors found this by her bed.” He said, pulling a letter from his jacket. “It’s addressed to you.”

I took it from my hand, the weight heavy despite how thin it looked. I clutched on to it as my dad drove back to the hotel. We were leaving in the morning, flying back to New York to finish preparations for our “party.” I was a little scared, not quite sure what to expect from the letter. Good or bad. The insane ramblings of a woman out of her mind? Was she going to tell me how I was going to die? How it was my father’s fault that I was dead? 

I shut myself in my room when we got back to the hotel, leaning against the headboard as I stared down at the letter. Indeed, my name was written across the front in beautiful script. Not what I would expect from someone in her mental state. 

I opened the envelope, pulling out the folded pages. I unfolded them, a picture falling out. I picked it up, staring down at it. It was my dad, his arm around my mom, holding her closely. Her hand was on her stomach, his on top, a smile on both faces. I flipped the picture over. 

_ March 8th, 1992 _

_ Rockaway Beach, New York _

That must have been when they found out she was pregnant with me. Back when she still remembered who she was. I put the picture to the side, and started reading the letter. 

_ Skye,  _

_ I’m sorry I never got to know you. Circumstances were such that I never got the chance to raise you. I knew it was going to happen, but it was beyond my power to stop it. I always believed everything happened for a reason, and none of this is without reason.  _

_ I’m sorry it had to happen this way, but I had to protect you. He was coming, he was going to use me against you. He was going to take it from you, and I couldn’t let him. Your powers are keeping you safe, Skye. The Aether will not let it’s host go so easily, not when it has found one like you. There is a lot you don’t understand, a lot that I do not understand about how it works, but I do know it would not have chosen you, had you not been special. You’ve always been special, but you never realized it.  _

_ I knew, even when my mind was taken over, when I descended into the darkness that you were special. I saw, I dreamed about you. Your future. I saw you meeting your uncle, and your grandparents. I saw you being taken over by the Aether. I saw you falling, dying, even for just a moment. But your father was there. He was there to save you, to bring you back, to make sure you finished your job. You are not done in this world yet, Skye. There’s so much more for you to do.  _

_ I’m sorry I’ll never get to meet my grandson. The sweet little James Anthony Rogers. Named after the most important people in your life, and his. James, the closest thing he had to a brother, and the most important man in his life. Anthony, the most important man in your life. Don’t give up hope. Sometimes things need to break, so when they are pieced back together, they become stronger. He still loves you, Skye. Don’t give up hope yet.  _

_ Just know I would not have done it, if I had another choice. But you have always been the most important thing in my life. I’ve been watching you, how you’ve grown up into your own strong, independent woman. I’ve never been so proud of you. I’ll still be watching you, Skye. I’m not completely gone. Your father needs you more than ever now. I can’t tell you what’s going to happen in the future, but you need to be there for him. Support him. He needs it. He’s always been rash, impulsive. He acts before thinking. But I fear what has happened will consume him. Stand by him. If he loses you too, I fear the worst.  _

_ Stay strong, Skye. The people who love you need you more than you, and even they, know. Do not fear what the future holds. It can change in a heartbeat. I love you so much, and I wish things could have been different.  _

_ Freya _

Tears were rolling down my cheeks as I read the letter a third time. She’d killed herself to keep me safe from Thanos. She knew everything. She’d seen the future, and she’d tried to change it. I picked the picture back up, holding it in my shaking hands. They looked so happy. They could have been happy. How different things would have been, could have been. I could have grown up with my mom. She could have been there when my dad went missing. When he became Iron Man. Maybe he wouldn’t have become Iron Man. Maybe she could have talked him out of it. Maybe...maybe I could have been normal. 

I got off the bed, grabbing my phone before heading out to the balcony. I sank down on one of the chairs at the table, kicking my feet up on the railing. I wiped the tears off my face as the phone rang in my ear. I wasn’t entirely sure why I was doing it. Maybe I just needed to hear his voice. 

_ “Skye?”  _

“Hey, Steve.” I said, sniffing. 

_ “How are you holding up?”  _ He sounded a little concerned, making my heart clench. 

“Not good. We buried her this morning. Under a palm tree by the beach. It’s just...hard to believe she’s really gone.” 

_ “I know. It seems surreal. You think she’ll be right there, and then you turn and she’s not. And then it hits that she’s gone.”  _ The sadness in his voice had a whole new wave of tears falling.  _ “How’s your dad doing?”  _

“He’s taking it pretty hard. I worry about him. He’s been taking everything pretty hard lately. But we leave in the morning for New York.” 

_ “Sam and I are flying out tomorrow afternoon. Nat said she’d try to make it.”  _

“Clint said he’d love to come, but he doesn’t want Laura to travel with how close to the due date she is. Rhodey will be there. Pepper’s going to try and fly last minute with Happy. It’ll be small, but I think that’s best. Last thing I need is to get overwhelmed.” 

_ “Yeah.”  _ I heard a voice in the background and Steve answered, pulling away from the phone slightly.  _ “I gotta go. I’ll see you tomorrow, though.”  _

“Yeah. See you tomorrow.” 

I had so much to say to him, so much I wanted to tell him, but I didn’t know if I could. My mom said everything would be okay, and I wanted to believe that. I really did. 


	109. Sisterhood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired by "Fix You" by Coldplay and "Drops of Jupiter" by Train.

I sat on the couch of the party deck. I was in a long sleeved, knee length black dress. My dad was talking to Steve and Rhodey, Pepper standing next to him, but I could sense some tension between them. I was leaning against Nat’s shoulder, her arm around me, rubbing my arm comfortingly. Thor was sitting next to her, staring down at a glass of alcohol. He hadn’t moved in about five minutes. Sam was talking to Wanda, and Vision looked slightly out of place. 

I could feel Steve’s eyes on me every few moments. I knew there were a lot of things he wanted to say to me. There were a lot of things I wanted to say to him. 

“Talk to him.” Natasha said, quietly. 

“What?” I asked, sitting up. 

“You want to talk to him. Do it.” 

“I just...I don’t think now’s the best time.” 

“Honey, as your surrogate older sister, I’m telling you to talk to him.” 

“I agree.” Thor said, finally looking up from his glass. “He wants to talk to you, but he’s unsure of how to approach you.” 

“See. He’s not going to do it himself. You’ve gotta make that move yourself.” 

I looked past her at Steve, meeting his eyes. He straightened up just a little, his gaze softening just the slightest. I looked away, leaning back on the couch. 

“Maybe when there’s not so many people around.” I said, staring down at my hands, avoiding Steve’s gaze. 

Most everyone had gone to bed except my dad, Rhodey, Thor, Steve and I. Thor was talking to Steve, and my dad was sitting across from me talking to Rhodey. I stared down at my heels, watching the way the lights reflected off the black patent leather. 

I stood up, walking past Steve and Thor to the glass doors, stepping out onto the balcony. The air was cool, but I didn’t mind, enjoying it after being in the stuffy tower. Manhattan was still very much awake and moving as people went on with their lives, several storeys below. I leaned against the railing, watching the backed up traffic as the door opened, another body stepping up next to me. 

It was silent between us for a while. Neither of us saying anything, just looking out over the bright city. 

“You know...she wrote me a letter.” I said, still looking out at the city. “She wasn’t as crazy as it turned out. She still had her moments. She said...she did it to protect me. She didn’t have any other choice.” I bit my lip, looking up at Steve with tears in my eyes. He was staring down at me, his face one of sympathy. “But I still feel like I could have helped her. That there was a way.” I whispered, a tear falling down my cheek. My eyes fluttered shut as his hand lifted to my face, wiping the tear from my cheek with his thumb. “She knew.” I said, looking up at him. “She knew everything. That the Aether would possess me. She knew about our son...” I cut off, a sob leaving me. “She said ‘sometimes perfect things have to break, so when they’re put back together their stronger.’ But I don’t want to be broken anymore.” 

He pulled me into a hug, and I buried my face in his shoulder, wrapping my arms around him. I was sure I was soaking his jacket, but I couldn’t stop. The pain, and depression that had settled within me came out as I clutched onto him like he was the only thing holding me on Earth. He held me just as tightly, leaning his head against mine. 

I didn’t see my dad walk past the doors, only to backtrack, his face setting as he stormed towards the doors, only to be pulled back by Rhodey, and dragged away. Thor followed the two, a small smile on his face at the sight of Steve and I. 

I wasn’t sure how long we stood there, just holding each other. It was long enough for my tears to reduce to sniffles. I pulled away slowly, one arm still wrapped around his neck, the other clutching his jacket. His hands stayed on my waist as we stared at each other. 

“I hate being broken too.” Steve said, looking into my eyes. “I hate being apart. I hate not knowing if you’re okay. If you’re safe. If you’re hurting, or seeing you smile in the morning. I hate not being able to hold you when I have a nightmare. I hate not being there when you have a nightmare, not able to take care of you. I miss you, Skye. Leaving was the worst decision I ever made.” 

I felt the corners of my mouth pull up in a smile, a light I didn’t know had gone out lighting inside me again. 

“I missed you too. I miss being able to talk to you. I miss having you there to protect me. I miss hearing you talk in your sleep. I miss having you there to hold me at night. I miss the way you hold me when you have a nightmare, like I’m the only thing holding you on Earth.” 

“Because you are.” He said, his thumb brushing my cheek. 

“I’m so sorry.” I said, shaking my head. “God, I’m so sorry Steve.” 

“I know. Me too.” 

I bit my lip, staring up into his eyes. He stared back for a moment before leaning down, closing the gap between us. I felt fireworks erupt inside me, sparks shooting clear through my nerves, to the ends of my fingers. Steve pulled away, staring down at my face. 

“Please tell me you felt that.” I asked.  

“Good. I thought it was just me.” He said. A shiver ran through me as a cool breeze picked up. “Come on.” He wrapped an arm around my waist. “Let’s go back inside.” 

We were the only ones still up, so we sat on the couch and I cuddled into his side. We were silent for a moment, just enjoying being close to each other again. 

“There are a few stipulations.” Steve said finally, turning slightly so he could look at me. “I don’t want to just jump back in where we were before. Last time we tried that, look where it got us.” 

“I can agree with that.” I said. “Start from the beginning again. Rebuild our relationship stronger this time, instead of just trying to throw the pieces back together carelessly.” 

“Exactly.” Steve took my hand, lacing our fingers together. “Are you coming to the training facility once it’s finished?” He asked me after a moment. 

“I don’t think I have much of a choice. My dad would send me even if I said no.” I smiled. “Plus, who can say no to being trained by Captain America?” 

He smiled, shaking his head. “I think it’ll be good. Have space to train. You can work on your powers with Vision. You can help train Wanda. Your powers aren’t all that different in some aspects. I think it would be good for both of you.” 

“Careful. You might have a sisterhood form right under your nose. Natasha is apparently my surrogate older sister. I might just gain another one.” 

Steve smiled. “So if I break your heart again, I might not live long?” 

“Exactly.” I leaned my head on his shoulder. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Except one with a renowned assassin as a surrogate older sister.” 

Steve wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “I missed this.” He said, leaning his cheek against the top of my head. 

“Me too. Let’s never do that again.” I said, tucking my body closer to his side, closing my eyes, revelling in being so close to him again. 


	110. TMZ Has No Boundaries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literally just a bunch of fluff.

I woke up early, a smile forming on my face as the memories of the night before flashed through my mind. Steve had carried me to bed, making sure I was comfortable before bidding me good night, leaving with a kiss to my forehead. I felt like puppies and rainbows inside, the smile on my face refusing to leave. I changed into jeans and a t-shirt before almost skipping my way down to the kitchen for breakfast. Natasha was down there with Wanda and they both watched as I practically danced through the kitchen to get myself breakfast. 

“Someone’s in a good mood.” Natasha said, leaning on her hand as I took a seat next to her. 

“A very good mood.” Wanda said, a knowing look on her face. 

“You two didn’t fondue...did you?” 

“No.” I said, blushing slightly, biting my lip. “But we are back together.” 

“See. You didn’t want to talk to him.” Natasha said. 

“Men won’t know unless you tell them straight out.” Wanda said. 

“I know.” I said, blowing over my coffee before taking a sip. “But I’m so glad I did it.” 

“Good.” Natasha said. “You deserve a little happiness after everything that’s happened. And if he didn’t want you back, I had plan B.” Natasha said, smirking. 

“What was plan B?” 

“Well, Sam agreed to dangle him in the air by his leg until he told him why he wouldn’t take you back. And if he didn’t give a good enough answer, then Steve would find out what a free fall is like.” 

“Sam would catch him, right?” 

“Eventually.” Natasha said, shrugging. 

I couldn’t help the laugh that came out at the mental picture, Natasha and Wanda laughing as well. The elevator doors opened and my dad came walking out, the three of us girls laughing a little harder. 

“Ladies.” He said as he passed us. “Awfully giggly this morning.” 

“Just discussing things.” Natasha said. 

“Like what I saw on the balcony last night.” He said, eyes set on me. 

“You saw that?” I asked, my face falling a little. 

“I see everything.” He said, pouring sugar in his coffee. “But as long as you’re happy.” He said, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “But if he breaks your heart a third time, I’m pitching him off the tower, and letting him fall.” 

The three of us girls broke out into laughter again as my dad left, heading up to the labs again. We quieted as Steve entered the kitchen, both Natasha and Wanda leaving us, saying something about training, and showering. I grabbed my mug, walking into the kitchen to fill it up again. 

“Morning.” Steve said, smiling down at me as I waited for my mug to fill. 

“Morning.” I said, standing on my tiptoes to press a soft kiss to his lips. I pulled away slowly, loving how his long eyelashes fluttered when he opened his eyes. “I missed this.” I whispered. 

He wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me against his chest. “I know. Me too.” He pressed his lips to mine again. “Will you spend the day with me?”

“I don’t see why not.” I said, smiling as I pulled away long enough to grab my coffee. 

“Sam and I are heading back to D.C. tonight.” 

“I think that’s a good idea. We can still have a little space until the facility is finished. Work on figuring some things out before we’re at the training facility. But until then, we can do whatever you want.” 

We ended up going to Coney Island for the day. It was nice, getting out and just having a fun day with Steve. After everything, we needed a day off where we could be together. And I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I even got him on the Cyclone after hearing his story about the last time he was on it in the 40’s. I told him I wouldn’t take a video if he puked. I wasn’t making any promises about laughing though. 

We had a good time, eating lots of food, and Steve even won me a teddy bear. Something to remember him by when he left. I told him just knowing we were okay was enough for me. But he insisted, so I didn’t complain. I let him have his moment. If that’s what he needed, I wasn’t going to stop him. 

******

**_CAP AND HIS GIRL BACK TOGETHER?_ **

_ Captain America and Skye Stark were seen out at Coney Island yesterday, holding hands and even sharing a kiss.  _

Sure enough, a picture of Steve and I kissing after he’d won me the bear popped up on screen. 

_ Our sources say the two are in fact an item again.  _

Who even says that anymore? Good old TMZ getting in everyone’s business again. My phone buzzed next to me and I saw Steve’s name. 

“Did you see it?” 

_ “Yeah. Press today has no respect for privacy.”  _

“Welcome to the limelight sweetheart.”

_ “Yeah, I just wish they could back off sometimes. It’s none of their business.”  _

“Are you going to go all Captain America on them and go punch through a computer screen at their headquarters?” 

_ “No. It’s a pretty vague article. I just wish they didn’t have that picture on there.”  _

“I think it’s kinda cute.” I said, tilting my head. “We don’t have many pictures of us together as a couple, and that’s better quality than most TMZ pictures.” 

_ “It’s your lock screen, isn’t it.”  _

“Yeah.” I said, biting my lip. “I’m just happy.” I said, placing my tablet to the side, picking up the bear next to me. 

_ “I’m glad. Do you still have the bear?”  _

“Yup. He’s keeping me company in your absence.” 

_ “We’ll be back together in no time. Just don’t get too lonely.”  _

“That’s what the bear is for.” I said. 

I heard Sam yell something in the background.  _ “Sam says hi.”  _

“I heard. Tell him I say ‘hi’ back.” 

Steve turned, telling Sam I said hi.  _ “I should probably get to bed. Got an early start.”  _

“What? Captain America can’t even take a week long break?” 

_ “Well, this body didn’t get this way by itself. Okay, it kind of did, but I gotta keep myself in shape. Never know when something’s gonna happen, living a life like this.”  _

“I know. Always on your toes. Just be careful, okay? Don't push yourself too hard.” 

_ “I won’t. I promise I’ll be careful.”  _

I heard Sam say something about being sickeningly adorable. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?” I said, laughing a little. 

_ “Okay. Skye, I’m glad things worked out.”  _ We said our goodbyes before the line clicked as he hung up. 

_ Me too, Steve.  _ I thought, looking down at the bear.  _ Me too.  _

 


	111. New Avengers

_ I was pushed to the ground by a man in black armor, a second standing over me pointing a gun at me. I tried to struggle, but something was placed around my neck. I cried out as something sharp pierced the skin, my energy immediately draining. I was hauled to my feet, my world spinning as I felt weaker and weaker. I wasn’t sure if I was going to pass out, or throw up. Maybe both. I tried to use my powers to get the men off me, but an electric shock ran through me, making me screech and curl up on the ground. I could barely move as I was hauled to my feet and placed in an armored van, the collar around my neck rendering me helpless.  _

I shot up in bed, clawing at my neck, but there was nothing there. I grabbed the bear Steve had won me, clutching it tightly as I tried to calm my breathing. My visions had come back with full force, getting stranger and stranger. I looked to my clock, four hours and we were supposed to be on the road, heading for the training facility. Almost everything I was taking was already packed and ready to go. 

I stared at the bear in my hands, running my fingers over the soft fur. My phone buzzed next to me with a text. 

_ Leaving D.C. See you in a few hours. _

I smiled. Only a few hours and I’d be with Steve. My dad had already told me he wasn’t going to stay long at the facility, just until everyone was all settled. He had some things to take care of (Pepper) in California, and he said he needed a vacation. I didn’t disagree, but everything I needed, I was about to get. 

The week had gone by surprisingly fast. Steve and I talked every day, sometimes Sam interjecting in the background. Which I quickly responded with a ‘bite me, Wilson.’ I missed him terribly, though. Especially when my visions got wonky. I wasn’t sure what they meant, or how far they were in the future, but I was hoping they were still a ways away. 

I found myself in my car a few hours later, my bags packed and stacked in the seat beside me, following my dad out to the training facility. I was excited for what was going to come, what the future held for the Avengers. 

I pulled into the garage, parking next to a familiar motorcycle. I was swept up in a hug, barely out of the car before I was a few inches off the ground. I laughed, burying my face in Steve’s neck. 

“I missed you too.” I said, holding on tightly. 

“Yeah, yeah, we get it. You missed each other.” I heard my dad say. 

Steve slowly lowered me to the ground, taking a step back as we both turned to see my dad and Thor standing there, their arms crossed. I gave my dad a look, and he just shrugged, an innocent look on his face. 

“Come on. I’ll show you to your room.” My dad said, grabbing one of my bags, Thor grabbing the other two. 

“I’ll talk to you later.” I said, smiling up at Steve, running my thumb over his cheek as I moved past him before heading off with my dad and Thor. 

My room was strangely familiar, and I knew my dad had a hand in designing it. It was laid out almost exactly like my room at the mansion in Malibu. Maybe my dad thought I needed a little nostalgia in my life. That, or comfort. I was down the hall from Wanda, Steve’s room nearly on the opposite side of the facility. I wonder who designed that? 

There was a knock on my open door and I turned, seeing Steve. 

“Hey.” I said, putting the shirt I was folding in my drawer before closing it. 

Steve walked up to me, wrapping his arms around my waist before leaning down, pressing a kiss to my lips. 

“I wanted to do that earlier, but I was afraid I might get struck by lightning if I did.” 

I giggled. “They wouldn’t have done anything with me standing there. They can get over themselves.” 

“They still don’t like me.” 

“And don’t expect them to.” I cupped his cheek. “It’s their jobs as dad and uncle to be protective. But I know they wouldn’t ever stop me from being happy. And if that means being with you, then they’ll just have to get over themselves.” 

He pressed another kiss to my lips, this one deeper, full of more meaning than the first. I leaned back slightly, my butt hitting the dresser as we kissed, Steve’s arms tightening around me. He pulled away, leaning his forehead against mine. 

“Oh god, I needed you earlier.” I breathed. 

“Another vision?” 

“Yeah. I don’t know what it means, but whatever is going to happen, it’s bad.” 

I felt a shiver run through me at the thought of being collared like that. Being rendered powerless. Steve’s arms pulled me against his chest, holding me tightly. 

“You have me now. I’m here when you need me.” 

I nuzzled my nose against his neck, breathing him in. Oh god how I’d missed him. We stayed that way until a throat cleared behind us. Both of us looked, Wanda standing there, leaning against my door. 

“As sweet as that was, I need to borrow Skye.” 

“Of course.” Steve said before turning to me. “I’ll see you later.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead before leaving, nodding to Wanda as he left. 

“What’s up?” I asked, moving closer to the door. 

“I need your help with something.” 

Wanda and I spent a good two hours working on her new look. I had just finished curling her hair when Natasha came knocking. 

“There you two are.” She said, leaning on the doorframe. “Dinner’s ready, if you would like to join us.” 

“What do you think?” Wanda asked, turning to the assassin. 

“I think...” She walked into the room, wrapping an arm around each of us. “You’re both beautiful.” A smile broke out on her face. “This is going to be so much fun.” 

**3RD POV**

Everyone was finishing getting settled at the new facility. Thor and Tony were making their last rounds, saying their farewells before they went their separate ways. Tony was a little apprehensive about leaving his daughter, but he knew it was going to happen sooner or later. 

“Dad, I’ll be fine.” 

“I’m just a phone call away. If you need anything. Seriously. Especially if Spangles breaks your heart again. I’ll be here faster than you can say Star Spangled Banner.” 

“Dad, I’ve already told you. He’s not gonna break my heart again. Trust me. You do remember I can see the future, right?” 

Tony just shook his head, pulling Skye in for another hug. 

Tony walked to his car with Steve after Thor had left, leaving his mark on the grass. 

“I’m gonna miss him, though. And you’re gonna miss me. There’s gonna be a lot of manful tears.” 

“I will miss you, Tony.” Steve said. 

“Yeah? Well, it’s time for me to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton’s book. Build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up.”    
“The simple life.” 

“You’ll get there one day.” 

“I don’t know. Family, stability...the guy who wanted that went into the ice 75 years ago. I think someone else came out.” 

Tony nodded, opening his car door. “Well, if you change your mind...I know a girl who would willingly accept.” 


	112. Visions and Training Mishaps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, light spoiler for Civil War, but I didn't go into too much detail.

“I’m so happy I met you.” Steve said as we lay side by side in his bed.  

We’d been at the training facility for a month now. We’d all been working hard, learning how to be a team, training, working on our abilities. Steve and I had got closer, spending more time together. I feel like we were learning more about each other this time around, than we did the first time. We just kind of jumped into things the first time. Now we were taking our time. Moving slowly. 

“I’m so glad I met you too.” I said, leaning on my elbow. “Things would have been a lot different without you. I don’t know...if I could have-” 

Steve stopped me with a chaste kiss to my lips, his nose brushing mine. “Shh.” He hushed me, leaning his forehead against mine. “Don’t think about that.” He whispered, cupping the side of my head. “I am here.” He pulled away so we were looking in each other’s eyes. “And I’m not going anywhere.” 

He pulled me against his chest, tucking the blankets around us before reaching over to turn off the lights. I leaned my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat in my ear. His warmth was reassuring, something I’d missed the few weeks we were apart. Something I didn’t know I needed. No, we hadn’t had sex again, yet. We hadn’t even had an official makeout session. Just gentle touches, and sweet kisses. Everything we needed. Just taking comfort in each other, after everything we’d gone through. Comfort was what we needed in that moment. 

It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep, but once I was asleep, I regretted everything. 

_ I was running, but it wasn’t fast enough. I felt like I was moving through quicksand, trying to get to the fighting figures in front of me. My vision was blurry, every breath leaving me was painful. My hand was glued to my side, blood spilling out from in between my fingers. But I couldn’t stop. I had to get to them. I had to stop them.  _

_ I ran straight in front of Steve pushing him to the side right as my dad fired his repulsor, the blast hitting me in the stomach. I went flying back, hitting the cold ground hard, the air leaving my lungs. I heard a bang as Steve dropped his shield, falling to his knees beside me. He removed his helmet, cupping my face in his hands. His lip was cut, blood dripping down his chin. He looked tired, and beat, but the worry was prevalent. He was speaking to me, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. I heard a mechanical whirr as my dad knelt down on my other side, looking at me with guilt shining in his eyes. He was speaking too, but words were lost on me. Everything was lost on me. My vision was getting spotty as Steve punched my dad’s suit, sending him back. He picked up his shield, tossing it at my dad. They fought, throwing punches, hits. I reached out, trying to get them to stop, but I couldn’t get more than a squeak out.  _

_ The last thing I saw before I passed out was Steve, his shield raised over my dad, ready to strike.  _

I shot up in bed, gasping for breath and shaking. I was gripping the sheets in my hands, trying to ground myself somehow. 

“Skye?” I heard Steve’s sleepy voice behind me. “You okay?” He was wide awake, sitting up and checking me over. “Was it a vision?” 

“I...yes.” I said, turning to look at him. “Oh god, Steve.” I breathed, tears pooling in my eyes. “It was horrible.”

He pulled me into his chest, rubbing my back as I gripped onto him for dear life. I didn’t want that vision to come true. I didn’t want my dad and Steve to fight. I didn’t...I didn’t want to have to take a repulsor blast for Steve. I’d heal faster than he would, but that last image I’d had. Steve, posed to strike. I was terrified. I wanted the future to change. I wanted that to only be a glimpse of what would happen, if something didn’t change. 

Steve held me until I quieted down, before laying us both back down, my head resting on his chest. He ran his fingers through my hair, working out all the tangles. I listened to his heart beating under my ear, the steady rhythm lulling me back to sleep, and back into my nightmares. 

I woke briefly when Steve got up to go on his morning run with Sam. He tucked me back in, kissing my forehead before heading out the door. I was back asleep before the door even shut, until my alarm went off a couple hours later. I groaned, reaching over to shut it off. I was training with Wanda today. Both of us were working on controlling our abilities. 

I slid out of bed, putting my slippers on before leaving Steve’s room, walking to mine. His was in a more private area, but his office was just down the hall from Wanda’s room. I waved to said Sokovian as I entered my room, flopping back down on the bed. Waking up early on a Monday was brutal. But at least I didn’t have to train with Natasha. My poor muscles celebrated that. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the redhead, but she was ruthless. Sure, I would heal, but at the time it didn’t feel good. 

I pulled on some clothes, making myself somewhat presentable before heading down to the kitchen to grab some liquid breakfast. 

I met Wanda in the training room, both of us preparing ourselves for working on our powers. I always felt more afraid, not even knowing the extent of my abilities. I mean, I had convinced one of the staff he was in a field full of bunnies the other day. I knew I was powerful, but I wasn’t exactly keen on finding out just how powerful I really was. 

Wanda and I worked on basic things, moving large objects with our minds, protecting ourselves from projectiles. Even lifting people. That was fun. Until our powers met accidentally. 

It was like an explosion. A giant shock wave that threw us back, my vision blacking out as I hit the ground, a ringing resounding in my ears. 

Sounds were muffled as I came back to. There was someone speaking rapidly, a hand on my shoulder. I blinked, trying to clear my vision as my eyes opened. I felt like I was moving in slow motion, people moving around in my peripheral vision. The hand on my shoulder rolled me over, and I was staring at Natasha. She was speaking to me, but I still couldn’t hear. My eyes left her face, looking up at the ceiling, suddenly feeling very nauseous. Like I had been punched in the stomach. 

Natasha moved my hair away from my ears before turning and saying something to someone across the room. 

“Someone stop the car alarms!” I heard her shout as the ringing went away in my ears. Indeed there were car alarms going off. 

I heard footsteps cruching as people moved around, and I turned my head, seeing glass covering the floor. The glass windows of the training area had shattered, raining down over both of us. I tried to sit up, but Natasha pushed me back, looking towards the doors as someone else walked in. 

“What happened?” 

Steve. 

“We don’t know.” I heard one of the staff say. 

“Security Footage?” 

It was quiet for a moment, before I heard more crunching footsteps, Steve appearing in my vision. I opened my mouth, trying to talk as he squatted down beside me, but all that came out was a cough. My vision blurred slightly at the force of my cough. Steve felt my pulse, turning my head slightly to look at the same place Natasha had before standing up. 

“Get them to the Med bay. Get them checked out.” He ordered as he walked away, in Wanda’s direction. 

I looked up at Natasha, her face set. She placed a hand on my forehead before looking across the room where Steve had gone. I didn’t know what her look meant, but I knew it couldn’t be good. 

 


	113. Don't Let Feelings Get In The Way

Natasha had been training with Sam when it happened. She was just about to land a kick to his face when she paused, the sound of an explosion echoing through the facility. They shared a look, thinking the same thing before rushing out of the gym, heading towards the training room. They met Vision part way there. 

“I heard an explosion.” 

“It came from the training room.” Natasha said, looking down the hall. 

“Who’s in there today?” 

“Skye and Wanda.” A look passed between the three of them. “Vision, come with me. Sam, go find Cap.” 

Sam headed off to find Steve while Vision and Natasha nearly ran down the hall towards the training room. They could hear the car alarms as they got closer, as well as staff starting to head the same way they were. Natasha stopped short, just before the doors. The glass doors were shattered, infact all of the glass was shattered. The dust had started to settle in the training room, and Natasha could see the glass covering the floor. Skye was laying a few feet from the doors, Wanda across the room from her. 

“Go check Wanda.” Natasha said as she walked down the steps, the glass crunching under her feet. She cleared an area with her foot before kneeling down by Skye, placing a hand on her arm. “Skye? Skye, can you hear me?” No answer. Natasha sighed, watching staff approach the missing door “Damn it, Skye. You gotta work with me here. Snap out of it.” She knew Cap wasn’t going to let this go if she was unconscious when he came in. 

The staff started pouring in, some looking to see what happened, others actually there to do their jobs. 

“If you’re not here to help, leave.” Natasha said, and most of the staff scattered, going back to their jobs. “Do we have security footage to see what happened? Cap’s on his way down.” 

“Yes, they’re getting it now. The Med team is on standby, awaiting instructions.” 

Skye’s eyes fluttered open, a groan leaving her. 

“Skye?” Natasha asked, rolling her over on her back. “Skye, can you hear me? Raise your hand if you can hear me.” Skye’s dazed eyes left Natasha, moving up to the ceiling. 

“Wanda’s ears are bleeding.” Vision called across the room over the 

Natasha moved Skye’s hair, checking her ears. “So are Skye’s.” She turned to look at the staff moving around. “Someone stop the car alarms!” She shouted. 

Skye moved her head slightly away from Natasha, a drop of blood running down the back of her neck from her ears. She tried to sit up, but Natasha pushed her back down, looking to the doorway as Steve walked in. 

“What happened?” Steve asked. 

“We don’t know.” One of the staff said. 

“Security Footage?” 

Another staff member rushed forward, a tablet in hand. He showed Cap the footage of Wanda and Skye training, their powers meeting, and then the footage cut off as the explosion happened. Steve handed the tablet back to the staff member before moving to Skye. Her eyes were dazed as she looked up at him, glassy and distant. Like she was seeing, but not quite understanding. He squatted down on the opposite side of Natasha, Skye trying to talk, but all that came out was a cough. He checked her pulse, finding it slower than normal before turning her head, looking at her ears before standing up. He moved away from her, heading towards Wanda, who was still unconscious. 

“Get them to the Med bay. Get them checked out.” Steve said. “Skye will heal, so Wanda’s the priority.” 

He squatted down beside Wanda, going through the same motions, checking her over. He sighed, standing back up, looking between the two, before over at Natasha who was still by Skye. They shared a look before Natasha looked back at Skye. 

“After they’re moved, get this place cleaned up.” He said to the staff member closest to him, watching as the Med team wheeled two gurneys in. 

Natasha moved back slightly as the two staff knelt down beside Skye, watching them like a hawk as they checked her over. 

“Okay, Skye, I need you to raise your left arm.” Skye did. “And your right arm.” Skye did that as well. “Good. Can you speak?” He asked, as he shined a penlight in her eyes. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out, except for a cough. “Possible brain injury.” He said to his partner. “Okay. I’m going to ask you a couple questions. I want you to raise one finger for yes, and two for no. Can you do that?” Skye raised one finger. “Good girl. Does your neck or back hurt anywhere?” Two fingers. “Do you feel any pain anywhere else?” Two fingers. “Can you feel pain at all right now?” Two fingers. “Low risk of spinal cord injury.” He said. “We’re going to move you, okay?” He crossed her arms over her chest. “Keep your arms just like that, okay?” She moved her head, watching as the other gurney went by with Wanda on it. “Keep your head still for me, okay?” The technician said, moving her head back so she was looking up. “We’re gonna move her.” He said to his partner, slipping his hands under her shoulders. “Ready?” Natasha moved her hands under Skye’s sides, helping them lift her on to the gurney. 

They strapped her in before moving her out of the training room. Steve walked up to Natasha, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

“Go with Skye. I’ll be there in a little while.” 

Natasha nodded, before heading off towards the Med bay. Dr. Cho was there, already assessing Wanda, while one of her assistants was checking Skye over. 

“What’s the prognosis?” Natasha asked, standing at the foot of Wanda’s bed. 

“Physically, a minor brain injury. The shock took them both down, but Skye has recovered faster, thanks to her abilities. She’s still slightly out of it, and confused, but she is healing. Wanda, however, could be out for a few days. I cannot tell you, however, how their powers were affected. If they mixed and hit the other, affecting them both mentally, or if they just simply bounced off each other.”

“Skye is stronger. Her powers would overtake Wanda’s if that were the case.”

“It could very well be the reason Skye is awake, and Wanda is not. But we will not be able to test that theory until Skye is more aware. ”

Natasha looked over to where Steve had entered Skye’s room, talking to the assistant. His eyes met hers through the glass, and he had a dangerous look to them. 

“Let us know if anything changes.” Natasha said before leaving the Med bay. 

She wasn’t surprised when she was shoved up against the wall in the hallway, Steve cornering her in. 

“I told you it was a bad idea.” He hissed at her. 

“They need to learn to work together in the field. They can’t tiptoe around each other when they use their powers on a mission. That will get them hurt. Or worse.”  

“That’s why I told you they shouldn’t be training unsupervised. This happened before, in Sokovia the first time they met, but on a much smaller scale. Skye got hurt then, too.” 

“And she’ll start getting twitchy if she can’t control her abilities.” 

“She’s more powerful than you seem to understand. She could wipe out this entire facility by herself.”    
“Is that why you won’t let her work with Vision?” 

“It’s the same idea. I’d rather not find out what happens when two Infinity Stones mix their power. A whole lot of innocent people could get hurt.” 

“Then we need to work with them! Make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.” 

“How would someone like you, or me, stop that? We’d just wind up getting hurt, or they’d wind up getting hurt worse.” 

“This is about keeping Skye safe, isn’t it? It’s always been about that. You can’t baby her, Steve. She needs to grow. Stretch her abilities. She can’t defend herself if you’re always in front of her, telling her not to do something because she could get hurt. She’s in a controlled environment here. Accidents like this won’t happen all the time. She’s trained with Wanda twice before, and both of them were fine. You can’t lock her away in a tower because you’re scared you’ll lose her again.” Natasha shoved him back, stepping around him. “Watch your feelings, Cap. Don’t let them get in the way. She might just end up getting hurt because of that.” 


	114. Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I really wanted to get something posted this weekend, so it's not my best, but it's something. And my MRI is Monday, so I'll probably be posting an update to let everyone know how it went once I get the results.

_ He’d heard her yell. Watched her run right into its path. She shoved Bucky out of the way, taking the repulsor blast right to the stomach. His throat closed, stomach dropped, his limbs felt like lead as she fell to the ground, blood pouring from her stomach. She gasped, choking on air as her hand reached up to cover the hole in her flesh. He was at her side in a second, snapping back to reality, grabbing her wrist before she could feel the damage. He knew she was already healing, the Aether working to keep her alive. But that didn’t stop the panic that filled him at the sight of the blood, the way her head moved limply as she stared up at him. Stark was by her side in an instant as well, all anger he’d shown vanished. Steve was the angry one now, throwing a punch at Stark. It was his fault. His fault his fiancee was laying in a pool of her own blood. He was on his feet, throwing punch after punch at Stark, ready to reduce his suit to pieces for what he did. He knew Skye wouldn’t die, but the bleeding wasn’t stopping either. This was Stark’s fault. And he would pay for it.  _

Steve had heard the explosion, the sound dragging him from the daydream he’d been in. He blinked back the blurriness, looking down at the plans he’d been laying out for their next mission, before the alarm blaring startled him back to reality. The explosion had come from the training room.  _ Skye and Wanda.  _

He was on his feet, rushing through the hallways, Sam meeting him halfway, filling him in on what he already knew. He couldn’t help the panic that welled inside him a little. The image of Skye, bleeding out on the ground had him moving just a little faster, wanting to ensure his...girlfriend? Was that the term kids used these days? He felt like she was more than that. She meant more than just an empty term like ‘girlfriend.’ He loved her. Loved her more than anything. She was all he had in the end. Everyone he knew was gone. Bucky...Bucky was gone too. Hiding somewhere, keeping himself safe, he hoped. 

“Shit.” Sam breathed, looking at the shattered glass doors of the training room. 

He could see Natasha, leaning over a seemingly unconscious Skye, Vision across the room, mirroring her position, leaning over Wanda. He took a deep breath, shoving the panic down, before setting his face, walking into the training area, focusing on the glass crunching under his boots to keep himself from running to Skye, making sure she was alright. This was about more than just her. He had to remind himself of that more and more lately. 

**SKYE POV**

_ I screamed as pain shot through me. I was nearly folded in half on the hospital bed as I gripped Steve’s hand, trying to breathe.  _

_ “Come on, doll. You’re so close.” Steve said, kissing the side of my head.  _

_ “He’s crowning.” The doctor standing between my legs said. “One big push for me, Skye.”  _

_ I took a deep breath before pushing as hard as I could, the pain nearly ripping me in half. I was gripping Steve’s hand so hard I was scared I might break it.  _

_ “His head is almost out. I need a big push.”  _

_ “I can’t.” I breathed, looking up at Steve. “I can’t.”  _

_ “Yes you can. You can do this.”  _

_ I took a couple deep breaths before squeezing Steve’s hand, crying out as I pushed. There was intense pressure in between my legs, and then it disappeared. Crying filled the room, and I sighed in relief.  _

_ I laid back in the bed, Steve kissing my sweaty forehead.  _

_ “You did it.” He said, smiling at me. “I’m so proud of you.”  _

_ “Mr. Rogers, would you like to cut the umbilical cord?” The doctor asked.  _

_ Steve disappeared for a moment before coming back into view. He took my hand again, stroking my hair back from my face.  _

_ “Where are they taking him?” I asked weakly, watching as a nurse carried my son from the room.  _

_ “They’re going to get him cleaned up, and make sure he’s healthy.” Steve reassured me, but I could see something in his eyes.  _

_ The vision flashed to Steve talking to the doctor outside the hospital room.  _

_ “Mr. Rogers, your son was barely over 5lbs when he was born. It’s not a serious concern as far as future growth is concerned, but it does pose some possible health problems in the future. But our biggest concern right now...and there’s no easy way of saying this, but your son has a heart arrhythmia. An atrial flutter. It is treatable, but we need your consent as the parents in order to move forward.”  _

_ Steve ran his hand down his face. He looked tired, stressed. “Let me talk to my wife first.”  _

_ “Of course.” The doctor nodded. “Just ask one of the nurses to page me when you’ve decided.”  _

I jerked awake, breathing heavily. It took me a moment to remember where I was, still in the Med bay. 

“Bad dream?” I heard from my left, my head snapping to the side. 

“Not exactly.” I said, looking back to the ceiling. My voice was hoarse. 

“Vision?” 

“Of sorts.” 

“What was it about?” 

I shook my head, staying silent. I wasn’t even entirely sure what it meant. I mean, I got the gist of it, but was it really going to happen? 

“Did it involve this son I keep hearing about?” 

I blushed a little. “You...you know about that?” 

“I have my ways.” Natasha said, leaning back in her chair. “Should we be expecting him any time soon?” 

“God no.” I said, shaking my head. “Steve and I haven’t even started having sex again. It’s gonna be a while. A long while.” I bit my lip, thinking. “The doctor called him ‘Mr. Rogers,’ not ‘Captain Rogers.’ Whenever it happens...Steve has to give up Captain America first.” I looked over at the blacked out windows to my right, knowing Wanda was on the other side. 

“She’s fine.” Natasha said. “Unconscious still, but she’ll be okay. Neither of you were hurt too bad physically. Though, we won’t be able to tell what happened with your powers until she wakes up.” I stared down at my hands, watching my skin glow as the Aether moved inside me. “You’re stronger than her. Your powers would easily take hers out.” 

“I hate it.” I said quietly. “I’m dangerous. I could wipe out this entire building with a flick of a finger. It’s so easy for me to lose control, and then people get hurt.” I looked back over at the windows. “Maybe I shouldn’t be here.” 

“The more you fear what you’re capable of, the more it will control you. The more power you give it over you, the more people will get hurt. You can control it. It chose you for a reason. And maybe you should start believing in it.” 

I bit my lip, staring down at my feet. She was right. Out of everyone on that planet, it chose me. It must have known something I didn’t. 

“Where’s Steve?” I finally asked, looking over at her. 

“Talking to your dad.” 

“Oh god.” I groaned, leaning back in the bed. “He’s going to come back and demand I go home with him so he can be overprotective again.” 

Natasha shrugged. “You never know. I don’t think Steve will let you go so easily. I think he’d fight your dad to keep you with him at this moment.” She stood up. “I’ll let Steve know you’re awake.” She squeezed my leg before leaving the room. 

I sat there for a few minutes, thinking over everything before the door slid open, Steve coming in. His face was hard set, still in Captain America mode. 

“Why the long face?” I asked, my voice still hoarse. 

Steve shook his head, but the look didn’t disappear. “You could have been seriously hurt. Both of you. And I don’t want to risk something worse happening.” 

“Steve.” I said, shaking my head. “You don’t have to mother-hen me. I can take care of myself, okay? I mean, I heal faster than even you do! I’ve had much worse than this, Steve.” 

He sighed, and the Captain America look finally dropped. I was looking at Steve again, the emotion in his eyes a mix between relief, guilt, and anger. “I just want you to be safe.” 

“I am. I have a freaking Infinity Stone inside me. I don’t think I could be safer. I should be the one worrying about you.” 

He stepped closer to the bed, taking my hand in his. He pressed a kiss to my knuckles, holding my hand against his lips for a moment. 

"I'm sorry." He finally said, his lips brushing my skin. "I just get so worried about you sometimes. I get scared that you'll get hurt, and I won't be there..." 

“It’s okay, Steve.” I said, squeezing the hand that was still holding mine. “I’m tougher than I look.” 

He leaned down, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Get some rest. Both you, and Wanda are out for a couple days. We’ll deal with everything else when you get back.” 

I grabbed his hand before he walked away. “Come and see me when you have time?” 

He gave me his adorable half smile. “Of course.” 

I was released from the Med bay a couple hours later, Natasha sending me straight to my room. I knew I couldn’t fight it, so I collapsed on my bed, sinking into the soft mattress. I closed my eyes, thinking about everything. So much had happened in the last few hours. I needed to talk to Steve, but I knew I wouldn’t be seeing him anytime soon. He’d be busy, cleaning up the mess. My mess. It was all my fault. Me and this stupid Infinity Stone. All it ever did was get people hurt, including myself. I hated it. 

I grabbed a pillow, covering my face with it, before letting out a long sigh. This was going to be a long couple of days. 

When I woke up, I was on my side, light shining into my eyes. There was a hum as the screens lowered on the windows, blocking out the setting sun. The TV was on in the background, and the lights were dimmed. 

“You know, I used to watch this show when I was a kid.” I groaned, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. “A little surprised it’s on your DVR.” 

“Steve wanted to see how much it had changed since the 40’s.” I said, sitting up, rubbing my eyes. I was still on top of my covers, shoes and all. 

“Oh yeah? How’s things going with him?” The TV shut off, my dad turning my desk chair to face me. 

“Good...I think.” I said, frowning a little. 

“Not too tense after you destroyed the training room?” 

“Oh god.” I breathed, leaning my head on my knees. “You’re not here for that, are you?” 

“Not completely. I have a few things to look over, a few things to update. That was just another thing to add to my list.” My dad leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked at me. “Steve told me you said you didn’t think you should be here.” 

“I don’t. You saw what I did to the training room, and I was barely using my power. I’m dangerous, dad. And having two Infinity Stones in one place…” 

“Vision seems pretty alright. In control.” 

“He’s also a powerful android who’s barely three months old. I’m just...me.” 

“I’ve seen you in action. You don’t seem out of control then. Maybe you should work on you first, before you worry about your powers. You and Steve should take a vacation. Get a little time in for yourselves.” 

“Good luck convincing Steve of that.” I sighed, looking down at my hands.

“Skye.” My dad said, and I looked up into his eyes. “If you really don’t feel comfortable, there’s always room at the tower for you. Sure, it might be a little lonely.” He shrugged. “With Banner gone, and everyone else here, it would just be us.” 

“What about Pepper?” 

“She and I are...working through things. She’s busy in Malibu, and...well, I’m in New York, doing a whole lot of nothing.” 

He went to stand, but I stopped him. “Daddy...I’m scared.” 

“I know, kiddo.” He sat on the bed, pulling me into a hug. “You have every right to be.” He smoothed my hair back. “But you have someone who loves you very much...and your old dad to take care of you. I know Steve would take a bullet for you. Which would be a waste because he has the shield, but anyways.” He shook his head. “Just keep your options open. Don’t stress too much. Take these next couple days to relax.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’m a phone call away. Whatever you decide to do.” 

**3RD POV**

Tony left his daughter’s room, passing Steve in the hallway. 

“How is she?” The soldier asked him. 

“Unsure of what she wants. Scared. Everything she should be at her age.” Steve looked to the floor, nodding. Tony placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning in closer. “Take care of her, Rogers. She needs you now more than she needs me.” Tony squeezed his shoulder before making his way down the hallway, leaving Steve there to think over his words. 

Skye did need him. She’d made that clear without even having to tell him. But, hearing it from Tony...it solidified it in a way he was anxious to think about. Was he ready for that step? Was she ready for it? He knew they’d get there eventually. He’d seen it. But was now really the time? But what if he waited and wound up regretting it? He’d waited so long...but he wanted her to be ready too. In the end it was up to her. And he wanted to make sure she was just as ready as he was. If he had to wait a week, or a year, he would. He’d do anything for her to make sure she was happy. Even if that meant waiting. 


	115. Healing

Steve entered the room slowly. She was on her side, her back to him. Her breathing was even, and he wasn’t sure if she was awake or not. The TV was playing Tom and Jerry still, but the sound was muted. He walked over to her dresser, stripping out of his shirt, grabbing a pair of sweatpants. From his angle he could see the flutter of her eyelashes as she blinked, but she wasn’t looking at him. He padded around the bed, the edge dipping as he sat on it, moving her pillows so he could lay down behind her. He stared at the back of her head, her dark curls slightly tangled, something she hated. He sighed, moving so he was laying against her, molding his body to hers, curling himself around her. He gently lifted her head so he could slip his arm under her neck, her head resting on his bicep. 

He didn’t say anything for a while. He just held her, supporting her. She finally moved, lifting her hand to lace her fingers with his. He squeezed her hand gently, rubbing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. 

“My dad said I could leave, if I wanted.” 

It took him a moment to realize she’d spoken. He wasn’t expecting it, and had almost fallen asleep when she said it. He didn’t say anything, not sure if she was finished, and to take time to process her words. He had expected Tony to tell her she could leave, go back to staying with him in the tower again. He just wasn’t sure if that’s what she wanted. If she was going to leave him again. 

She pulled away from him slightly, twisting around so she was facing him. Her baggy shirt, probably his, had ridden up exposing her tiny shorts she insisted on wearing, and part of her stomach. He settled his hand on her side, not quite daring to touch her just yet. He was still slightly nervous at what she was going to say. 

She took a deep breath, her hand lifting to cup his cheek. “Right now, you’re the only thing keeping me here.” 

He hadn’t quite expected that. But he believed her, looking down into those big shiny doe eyes. He wrapped his arm around her back, pulling her up so they were nose to nose, breathing each other in. 

“And I’ll support you no matter what you choose.” He wanted to tell her to stay, that he could help her, comfort her. But he knew he couldn’t force her to do anything. 

She leaned up on her elbow so she was looking down at him, her fingers drawing patterns on his cheek. “Yeah, I know you will. But that’s not what you’re feeling.” She lowered herself down, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. “Tell me what you really think.” 

He rolled them over so he was hovering over her, his body nestled between her legs, his elbows caging her in. “I don’t want you to leave me again.” He said, before leaning down to kiss her. “I want you to stay with me. Here. Where I can have you, hold you. Protect you, love you. Where you can be mine again.” 

She cupped his face, bringing his lips down to hers in a passionate kiss. She pulled away, breathing for a moment, before looking up into his eyes.    
“Make me yours again.” 

It was no more than a breathy plea, but it sparked a fire in him that he hadn’t felt in a long time. He brought his lips back to hers, tangling his hand in her hair, as her arms wrapped around his back, holding him tightly against her. His hips rutted against hers gently, hers lifting in response. He wanted, no, needed this. 

They broke away for air for a second, before their lips were back together, his hands sliding down her sides to pull her shirt over her head. She laid there, staring up at him as he admired her for a moment. She bit her lip, nearly sending him over the edge as he dove down to her neck, marking a trail down the sensitive skin, leaving bruises that would be gone before they even finished. 

He shifted slightly, pulling away so he could cup her breasts in his hands, feeling the weight in his hands. His thumbs ghosted over her nipples, her chest lifting in a sharp inhale, a quiet whimper leaving her lips. He looked up at her, giving her a smirk before bending down, taking one of her nipples in his mouth. Her whimper increased in volume as her hand tangled in his hair, holding him in place as he sucked the sensitive nub into his mouth. 

He knew her body almost as well as he knew his own. Even after all that time apart, he still remembered everything that had her turning into putty in his hands. He kissed a trail down her stomach, looking up at her as he paused to dip his tongue into her belly button. She laughed lightly at him and he smiled, kissing the rest of the way down to her shorts. 

He pulled away to look down at them. They were tiny little black things made out of some synthetic material. He loved to hate them. He could smell her arousal, see the damp spot starting to form between her legs as he ran his fingers lightly along the skin above the waistband. Goosebumps formed on her skin, her legs twitching, shifting to close as he looked up at her, leaning down so he was level with her. His fingers ran down the outside of her thighs, his nose following their path on the inside. She shifted impatiently, her hands gripping the comforter, waiting for him to make his move. He looked up at her again, locking eyes before leaning down and mouthing at her heat through her shorts. She gasped, her body shifting in response. His fingers trailed up her legs as he continued to tease her, moving up until they were gripping the waistband of her shorts. He looked up at her, her chest heaving, eyes hooded as she stared right back. A small nod was all it took and her shorts were hitting the wall behind him, his mouth finding her heat again, her legs tossed over his shoulders. 

He licked along her slit, a gasp leaving her lips as her hips lift slightly off the bed, wanting more. He licked along her slit again, stopping over her clit, before circling it with his tongue. She gasped again, her grip on the comforter tightening. He held her hips down as he sucked her clit in his mouth, teasing the sensitive nub. 

“Steve.” His name was a gasp as he teased her entrance with a finger. “Steve, please.” 

He continued to tease her clit as his finger slowly entered her heat. Her moan was almost a sigh as she shifted her hips, trying to get him to move his finger. He did, moving slowly, trying to let her adjust as much as possible. He released her clit, sitting up slightly, watching her as he added a second finger. Her eyes were closed, mouth parted as she breathed, a moan leaving her lips as his fingers curled, hitting her in just the right place. Her eyes opened and she looked at him, beckoning him with her eyes. 

He slid up her body, letting her hands tangle in his hair, bringing his lips to hers. She kissed him passionately, her legs wrapping around his waist, using her leverage to flip him over, trapping him under her. He was sure he could have overpowered her, but he let her have this victory, the pride showing on her face as she kissed her way down his chest. She hooked her fingers in the waistband of his briefs, yanking them down to his knees with his sweatpants. She sat up, admiring his length as it stood at attention, hard and leaking.

She wrapped her hand around him, jerking him slowly. “You’re going to have to be gentle at first.” She said, shifting back slightly. “It’s been a while.” 

She leaned down, sticking her ass in the air to tease him as she licked a stripe up the back of his length, her hand still working him. He groaned as she teased his head, her tongue dipping into his slit before she took him in her mouth, sinking down slowly as far as she could, her hand working the part of him she couldn’t take. He reached down, gathering her hair in his hand so he could see her, watching the string of saliva that was keeping them connected as she licked the vein running up the back of his length. 

“Fuck, Skye.” 

“Language Captain.” She said, smirking at him, her hand pumping faster. 

He nearly came as she lowered herself, taking him further and further into her mouth. She hollowed her cheeks, swallowing around him and his hips bucked, his head hitting the back of her throat, making her choke slightly, but she didn’t stop. She squeezed his base, her other hand kneading his balls and between that and the sight of her, he was coming undone, spurting himself right down her throat. 

She took every last drop, lifting herself off his length, wiping her chin before she crawled up his sweat slicked body, his chest heaving from the aftermath of his orgasm. She stared down at him, her hands resting on the bed above his shoulders. 

“You gonna use that super soldier stamina on me?” A small smirk played on her lips and he felt his length twitch again. 

He flipped them over, trapping her under him, lining himself up. He looked down into her eyes, her hands gripping his shoulders as he slowly pressed the tip in, stretching her. Her breathing picked up as he pressed all the way in, taking his time to let her adjust to his size. 

When he was fully seated he paused, leaning over her, looking down into her eyes. She stared back up at him, her eyes burning with an intensity he’d never seen before. 

“Hi.” She whispered, shifting slightly. 

“Hi.” He whispered back, wrapping his arms around her as her legs wrapped around his waist, locking him in. 

He started to move his hips, slowly building speed, taking his time to feel her again. Rediscover her. She gasped as he gave a hard thrust, her shoulders lifting off the bed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. 

He immediately panicked, thinking he did something wrong. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” 

She took a moment to breathe. “Steven Grant Rogers, if you don’t keep doing that, I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands.” 

He chuckles, her laugh turning into a moan as he repeated the action, lowering her slowly back onto the bed as he quickened his pace, moving in and out of her. His hips met hers over and over as he released the frustration he’d been feeling, the worry that had been plaguing him leaving as they moved together. 

Time seemed to freeze for a moment, the Aether shifting inside Skye, moving through her, waking the part that slept inside Steve. Their eyes met as they floated away to somewhere in space, the stars surrounding them as they flew through space, still connected. She leaned up, pressing her lips to his, her back hitting soft grass, Steve continuing to move inside her. 

They were in a field, impossibly blue sky above them, flowers of every kind around them. But she didn’t pay that much attention to them as Steve continued to move, his hips shifting just enough to hit that spot inside her that had her seeing stars. She gasped out his name, clinging to him as he hit that spot over and over. The sun got brighter the closer she got to the edge. Her eyes fluttered close, her moans turning into chants of Steve’s name as she teetered on the edge, her body flying again. 

Her back hit the mattress as she came undone, clinging to Steve like he was her lifesource, Steve following behind her not long after. They stayed that way for quite a while, just holding one another, still linked together. 

Steve moved first, lifting his head from her shoulder so he was looking down at her. Her eyes were closed, her face relaxed. He would have thought she were asleep, but he knew better. He waited, watching as her eyes fluttered open, soft brown looking into his blue. 

“Hi.” She breathed, a soft smile forming on her face. 

“Hi.” He smiled back, finally pulling out of her with a groan, before rolling over beside her. 

She shifted on her side, curling against his chest. “Remind me why we waited that long to have sex again?” 

“We wanted it to be the right time.” He said, rubbing her back softly. 

“That was a stupid idea.” She murmured, slowly drifting off to sleep, something she desperately needed. 

He was awake a while longer, thinking about everything that happened over the past few hours. He didn’t try to think too hard about what he had seen while they were in the middle of their...previous activities. He knew he had part of the Aether inside him. Sleeping deep within him somewhere. Skye had voiced that concern to him a few weeks ago, but he had reassured her he was alright, and that it wouldn’t hurt him. He just wasn’t sure why it was choosing now to act up. Maybe it was trying to tell him something. Something important. He just wished it would tell him directly. Or maybe he didn’t. He remembered what had happened the last time he wished that. And he didn’t want to relive that. He’d had enough worry for one day. 


	116. What's Best For Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait, but I wasn't quite sure where to take this, but I think I've got it all figured out. It's a little depressing, but with the impending Civil War that's kind of a given.

Steve was gone when I woke up. It wasn’t that surprising, as he still had a job to do. I sat up, grabbing my shirt from the floor, pulling it over my head. I sat on the edge of the bed, swinging my legs for a moment, before deciding a shower would probably be best. 

I headed down to the kitchen after my shower, braiding my wet hair back. It was nearly empty when I got down there, Vision sitting on the couch, flipping through a tablet. I head to the fridge, pulling out the orange juice, grabbing a glass. 

“Captain Rogers wanted me to let you know he had to leave early this morning with the team.” 

“Oh.” I say, frowning a little as I pour myself some juice. 

“You’re disappointed.” 

“He just...didn’t say goodbye.” I say, putting the juice back. 

“He did not want to wake you.”    
I nod. “Thanks, Vision.” I head out of the kitchen, going back to my room. 

I sit on the edge of my bed, looking around. Steve had moved some of his stuff into my room, in case he wanted to spend the night in my room, which had been happening less and less. He was busy being Captain America, trying to track down Rumlow, and leading a team. But it seemed like I was losing him. I didn’t want to lose him. 

I finish up my juice, before curling back up on the bed. The sheets still smelled like him and I found myself curling up with his pillow as I drifted back to sleep. 

_ “Steve, please! Think about this!”  _

_ “They need me. I’m sorry, Skye. I have to do this.”  _

_ “You could die! I need you! Your son needs you!”  _

_ Steve stops for a moment, his shoulders sagging as he sighs. “I’m sorry, Skye. I can’t.”  _

_ My heart shatters as he walks out the door, leaving me staring at the space he stood.  _

I jolt awake, my heart pounding, tears threatening to fall. I didn’t like that vision. I didn’t like it at all. It was close to lunchtime now, and my stomach was rumbling. But yet, I couldn’t hardly stomach the thought of food. My visions had been getting worse and worse, and I didn’t like what that meant. I knew something bad was coming. I’d known it for a long time, I just didn’t know when. I didn’t want to know. I thought about seeking Thor’s help, going back to Asgard where people wouldn’t look at me weird for having dreams about a giant purple man threatening to tear away everything I love and care about. But I also knew I couldn’t leave my dad like that. It wouldn’t be right. 

It was three days before they returned. I was tracking their position in the war room, making sure they were alright. They’d been on lengthy missions plenty of times, but I still couldn’t help but worry. I always asked to go, knowing I was more than capable of helping, but Steve always refused. Something about not wanting me to get hurt, even though he was more likely to get hurt than I was. He could heal quickly, but I could heal faster. I could take more hits than him. But he still refused, and it was irritating. 

I was in my room when they came back. FRIDAY announced their arrival, but I wasn’t as excited as I should have been. Usually I went down to the landing strip to meet them, but this time I didn’t. I was confused...unsure of what I wanted. And I knew how easy it would be to fall into his arms, and his bed again if I went down there. 

It was another two hours before Steve showed up at my door. He had showered and changed, and I wasn’t sure if that hurt more. 

“Hey. I didn’t see you down there. Is everything alright?” 

No. It’s not. But I didn’t say that. I wanted to, but I didn’t. “Yeah. Just...didn’t feel like going down there today.” 

I stepped aside, letting him in, knowing he was coming in whether I wanted him to or not. I could have stopped him, but part of me didn’t want to resort to that. I didn’t want to hurt him. But I did at the same time. 

I moved over to my bed, sitting down on the edge. “You left.” 

“I got the call in the middle of the night. You were fast asleep and I didn’t want to wake you.” 

“And what if that had been the last time? What if something had happened?” 

“Nothing did happen. It was a false lead.” 

“But what if it wasn’t? You’re not getting my point, Steve. Every time you leave it could be the last time I ever see you. Why is that so hard for you to understand? I get it, you’re hurting, you’re lost but you don’t have to constantly put yourself at risk...throw yourself into the face of death all the time because of that. Do you even think of what it would be like for me….for Bucky to find out you’re dead from one stupid decision?” 

There’s tears in his eyes when I finish, but he doesn’t let them fall. I’d tried searching for Bucky, and I knew he was still searching. But we still had no leads as to where he could be hiding. Steve had other things to be worrying about right now, but I knew Bucky was constantly on his mind. His best friend was out there somewhere, and he didn’t know if he was even safe. 

“I’m sorry, Skye. I wasn’t thinking.” 

“You’re damn right you weren’t.” His head snaps up at my outburst. “I don’t know if I can do this anymore.” 

He frowns. “What? What are you talking about.” 

“You won’t let me help you, you won’t let me go out with the team. Why am I here then? Am I only a mode of stress relief? A warm place to stick it? Is that all I’ve ever been?” He takes a breath, opening his mouth to answer but I shake my head, getting up. “No, don’t even answer that. I don’t want to know.” I pull my duffle bag out of my closet, starting to fill it with clothes. 

“What are you doing?” 

“I’m taking my dad up on his offer.” 

“You’re not leaving.” 

“Uh, yes I am.” I zip the bag closed, grabbing a few personal items before walking towards the door. 

“Skye.” Steve blocks me. “Think about this.” 

“I did. And I think this is best.” 

“You can’t leave. You can’t just walk away.” 

“Watch me.” I try to move past him, but he doesn’t budge. “Steve, move.” 

“I can’t let you leave. I can’t let you walk away.” 

“That’s not up to you. Now move!” 

“No! We...we can fix this! It doesn’t have to be this way. I’m not letting you run from your problems!” 

“You think that’s what I’m doing? You think I’m that immature? I’m leaving because I can’t take being hurt anymore. I can’t hurt people anymore. I need to leave. I need...I need time. And space. So please, move.” 

“Skye...it doesn’t have to be this way.” 

“Yes, Steve, it does. I’m sorry.” 

I push past him and he doesn’t stop me, and I leave him there, standing in my doorway as I head down to the garage, hastily wiping tears from my cheeks. 

I set my car on autopilot to the tower, tears still spilling down my cheeks as I shakily dial my dad’s number. I pray as it rings, that he’ll answer. 

_ “Skye?” _

“Daddy?” My voice cracks, thick with tears. 

_ “Skye, what’s wrong? What happened?” _

“Daddy, I’m coming home.”


	117. Civil War: Bad, Bad and Worse

I hadn’t been back to the compound in almost a year. I’d spent most of the time with my dad, just the two of us. He’d had a...disagreement with Pepper about his current life choices, and they had decided to take a break. It hit my dad hard, and quite frankly, I was glad I was there for him. He needed me just as much as I needed him. Yeah, my life was lonely without Steve, but it was also brighter. I didn’t have to worry about him while he was off on a mission, and...that was about it. Who am I kidding. Leaving Steve was the worst decision of my life. Even worse, it felt like a piece of me was missing. A piece of me was missing. But I was determined to stay where I was and not run back to the compound and beg for his forgiveness.

 

Yet, I found myself going back there almost a year later. My dad had texted me earlier that day, telling me to head up there because he needed to discuss something with me. He’d been coming and going from the compound recently, giving me “updates on the team,” which were really just updates on how Steve was doing in disguise. Recently they’d caught Rumlow, but not at the cost of several human lives. I felt miserable because I’d seen it happen, but there was nothing I could do about it. Even if things were okay between Steve and I, he wouldn’t have let me go with him. So I had to try not to put too much blame on myself for things that were out of my control. 

 

The compound was quiet when I got up there, unusual even for a weekend. I parked next to my dad’s car, getting out before heading inside. It was even quiet inside, something else that was unusual. I made my way towards the kitchen, usually the hub of excitement whenever there was a gathering. But something in front of me made me stop in my tracks. 

 

“Steve?” 

 

His head shot up like he’d heard a gunshot. His eyes were red and bloodshot and he looked like he’d been crying. I approached him slowly, unsure. His face was blank, offering me no hint as to whether I should move on or stay. I stood there, waiting, wondering what was going to happen. 

 

When he didn’t move, I took a couple hesitant steps forward. “Everything okay?” Idiot. Nothing was okay. You’d left him like a dufus. 

 

He nodded, straightening up. “Yeah, Skye. Everything’s fine.” 

 

I nod slowly, not believing him. “Alright...m-my dad told me he had something to talk to me about.” 

 

He nods. “Yeah, you should probably get up there.” 

 

It stung, but I deserved it. “Yeah. I, um...it’s nice seeing you.” Lame. 

 

He nods, and I head up the stairs, wanting to get out of that situation as quickly as possible. 

 

I found my dad in the kitchen, of course, making coffee. Wanda and Vision were up there as well, Rhodey in the kitchen talking to my dad. 

 

“Hey, kiddo.” He greets me as I hug Wanda. The air was tense, hinting that I’d missed something big. 

 

“You wanted to talk to me?” 

 

He nods, motioning for me to follow him. “Things are going to be changing around here.” 

 

“What do you mean?” I ask as we walk to his office. “What’s going on?” 

 

He sits me down in his office, telling me about the Sokovia Accords, and the United Nations urging the Avengers to sign and hand control over to them. 

 

“So, they just want us to give over our powers to their bidding like that?” 

 

“That’s not exactly how that works.” 

 

“Yeah, it is. They have control over what we can and can’t do as far as saving the world. They decide who the good guys, and the bad guys are. Last time that happened, it turns out the bad guys were running the whole thing. And you’re just going to hand over everything to them?” 

 

“We need to be kept in check. We can’t have another Ultron incident again. I’m just doing what I think is right!” 

 

“But what if you’re wrong? You thought Ultron was the right thing!” Ouch. I could see the wince. “You’ve been wrong before. Many times. What makes you so sure this is the right thing?”

 

“People are dying all the time because of our mistakes. We’re quick to destroy the world while trying to save it and not look back at what was destroyed. This is trying to stop that from happening.” 

 

“Yeah, I get that much, but you don’t understand what it’s like! Your powers come from a suit. My powers are inside me. I just can’t flip a switch, or take off a suit and get rid of them! Think about what someone with the wrong intentions could do with my powers. What the government could force me to do once the figured out the full extent of the Aether. Signing could mean handing myself over to be experimented on.” 

 

“They’re not going to experiment on you, Skye! They just want to make sure nothing bad happens because of us.” 

 

“And what if that involves trying to find a way to turn off or completely take away my powers, or Wanda’s? I don’t wanna turn out like my mom.”  His face immediately falls and my heart sinks further into my stomach. I sit back down in my chair, unsure of when I’d stood up. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Daddy.” I put my head in my hands. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just…”  I sigh. “I saw Steve on the way in, and something was wrong. Really wrong.” 

 

“Peggy died.” He says, looking at me. 

 

My head snaps up as I look at him. “What?” 

 

“I got a text earlier. She died in her sleep last night.” 

 

I look down guiltily. “Oh. That explains it.” 

 

It’,s silent between us for a few moments. The compound was too quiet. Everything was too quiet. 

 

“Are you going to sign?” 

 

I chew on my lip. “I don’t know yet. I need some time to think about it.” 

 

“They want it signed by the 8th. I can’t guarantee your protection or safety if you don’t.” 

 

I nod. “I know. But you’d still try.” I kiss his cheek, before I head out of the room, my feet numb under me as I walk around the compound, somehow ending up in the gym. 

 

Steve is in the corner, punching a bag. He’d changed since I’d seen him last, out of the sweater and jeans, and into a t-shirt and shorts. I could see his muscles from where I was standing, moving as he poured his emotions into the bag. I moved closer, sitting down on a weight bench not far from him, waiting for him to finish. 

 

He did a few minutes later, his back to me as he stands there, panting lightly. 

 

“Peggy’s gone.” 

 

“I know. My dad told me.” 

 

He turns around, staring at me. His eyes are still red, and I’m not sure if it’s sweat, or tears running down his face. 

 

I bite my lip again, looking down at the floor. “You don’t have to forgive me. Or talk to me. I’m just worried about you. I know how much she meant to you. How much you loved her.” He surprises me as he sits beside me, un-taping his knuckles. “She was my dad’s godmother. That’s why he found out too. I only met her once when I was little, but she was still kicking ass, even then. She’s part of the reason my dad turned out to be a halfway decent father. That, and he didn’t want to be like his own father.” He’s still silent as he sits, staring at the wall. “It’s hard to believe. The shock hits and then the pain sets in. That’s how it felt when my mom died. But everyone feels it differently. She meant a lot to you.” I look up at him. “And I’m sorry.” 

 

He finally looks at me, tears rimming his eyes. “It’s alright. I knew it was coming eventually.” 

 

“But that doesn’t make it hurt any less.” 

 

He leans forward, putting his head in his hands. I watch him, his shoulders shaking just the slightest and I hesitate, before putting my hand on his back. He tenses ever so slightly at my touch, but I don’t miss it, and I try not to think about that, and focus on the heat radiating from his back into my hand. 


	118. Author's Note

So, I've been meaning to post this for a few days now, but I keep forgetting. Anyways, no, I am not dead, as you can see. I am very much alive, for the most part. School has been kicking my ass. Yes, I'm still in school and will be until the week of June 11th. That's finals week, and most likely I will be done around the 14th. Until then, I'm putting my stories on hiatus until school is over. I started a new job and I've been super busy trying to balance school and work and I want to write, just do not have the time or energy to do so right now.

When school is over and I've had a little time to breathe, then I plan to get back into writing again. I plan to at least get through Civil War in Iron Skye, and then get through a decent amount, if not finish Cliff's Edge by the time school starts back up at the end of September and I become super busy again. I figured I should let everyone know what's happening, and that I am still alive and planning to write as soon as I have time to do so.

Thank you all so much for sticking with me and I hope you have a wonderful start to summer vacation, if you haven't started already.


	119. A Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow its been a while! But I plan to get this part of the story wrapped up in the next couple weeks. I'm injured right now so I can't do much. But writing is better than nothing.

My dad and I sat in the front during Peggy’s funeral. I couldn't even look at Steve as he helped carry her coffin into the church. I could feel his pain from where I was sitting. I had only met Peggy once when I was little. I barely remembered it, but I did know she was an amazing woman. 

 

I had a hard time paying attention during the funeral. I could feel Steve's eyes on the back of my head during the service. But I couldn't bring myself to turn and look at him. I knew we needed to talk, but with the funeral and then the signing tomorrow we had enough on our plates. 

 

I waited for Steve after the service. He at least deserved condolences. I knew better than anyone how much Peggy meant to him. She was the second to last thing he had left of his past. And now she was gone, and the only remaining part was somewhere else in the world, doing very well at keeping himself hidden. 

 

I waited until almost everyone had left before going back into the church. Steve was still standing there, staring at Peggy’s picture. I knew he had heard me come back in, but he didn't turn around. 

 

“I'm sorry Steve.” I stopped a few steps behind him. 

 

He finally turned to look at me. I could see the redness of his eyes. “Thanks. She was an amazing woman.”

 

“I only met her once, but I can easily say the same.”

 

It's silent between us for a moment. 

 

“Have you made up your mind yet?” He asks, looking at me. 

 

I nod. “Have you?”

 

“I can't sign it, Skye. I can't hand over control like that.” 

 

“I didn't expect you to. But you know what will happen.” 

 

“Nothing worse than what would happen if I did sign.”

 

“Steve…” 

 

“You're signing, aren't you?”

 

“Steve, I don't have a choice.” 

 

“There's always a choice.” He turns away from me again.

 

“Steve, I saw what they would do to me if I didn't sign. It's safer to let them think they have control than to have to run from them.” 

 

“And when they find out the extent of your powers?” 

 

“I won't let them.” I shake my head. “From the way things are looking I might not have them much longer.” 

 

It's silent again. 

 

“Why are you here?” 

 

Why was I here? Why did I stay for him. “I didn't want you to be alone.” He turns to look at me. “But that's probably exactly what you want. I'll take my leave.”

 

I turn, starting to walk away, but he stops me. 

 

“Skye?” I turn to look at him. “It might be a while before we see each other again.” 

 

“We might never see each other again.” 

 

He nods. “It wish things had turned out better.” 

 

“I know. But it's almost better this way. Goodbye Steve.” 

 

I turned on my heel, walking out of the church, expecting that to be the last time I ever saw him. 

 

But it turned out fate had different plans. 

 

I wished I had seen the explosion. I really did. But my visions had been pointed in one direction lately and they hadn't been offering me much help. I tried to force them, to get them to see things closer to home, but they refused to budge. The Aether was restless too. Sometimes reaching for a glass meant shattering it into a million pieces. I was scared, and with the government now controlling those abilities, I knew only trouble was ahead. 

 

We were supposed to fly out that afternoon. Head back to the states, but we found ourselves making our way to Berlin, while watching Steve and Bucky evade the police. I had a hard time believing what I was seeing. But then again, Steve had stared death in the face for Bucky. I knew breaking the law was only a small feat when it came to Bucky. Steve would walk past the end of the Earth for him. And that scared me too. 

 

My dad was on the phone having a very intense conversation the second we landed. I knew Steve was in a lot of trouble. Not only did he refuse to sign the accords but now he had also broken several laws and tried to help a wanted criminal from being caught. Or, at least that's what I was told. I wasn't quite sure what to believe anymore. 

 

Natasha was there with us, trying to help settle things. Secretary Ross wanted them prosecuted, but I knew my dad would do anything to keep that from happening. And I knew, deep down if I came to it, I would help too. 

 

My dad told me to stay away when he went to talk to Steve. I hadn't gotten the chance to talk to him since the funeral, but by the looks of things I had been right about that being the last time we'd get to talk. I knew I would only complicate things. But I also wanted to find out what happened from him. 

 

I kept my distance like my dad told me to, keeping my eyes on the screen with Bucky on it. I felt bad for him. He went from being trapped to free to trapped again. He deserved better. So much better. 

 

When I had tried to pry the Aether in a different direction, I had hoped it would be a little more helpful. But I had meant giving me visions days in advance, not minutes. When I had the vision of Bucky getting loose, it had thrown me off. But by the looks of things, I didn't have the time to convince anyone. Not that they would believe me anyways. 

 

I snuck away, running as fast as I could down to where they were holding him. When the lights went out, I knew we were in trouble. I just had to get there first. 

 

The guards were already unconscious when I got down there. The door was open and Bucky was standing in the middle of the room. His eyes were blank and his face was set as he looked at me. He started towards me, but I held my hands up, tethers of the Aether wrapping around him, stopping him. 

 

“Bucky, wait. You don't have to do this.” He struggles against the Aether and I tighten my hold. “Bucky, you know me. We've met before.” 

 

A sharp pain erupts in my side, breaking my concentration and the last thing I see before my vision goes dark is Bucky stalking towards me. 

 

When I come back to, the doctor is gone, and so is Bucky. My head is swimming, but the pain in my side is gone. My vision quickly focuses and I'm on my feet, making my way back upstairs, looking for someone. Anyone. 

 

I find my dad not long after I get back up to the ground floor. 

 

“Skye, what the hell were you thinking?” 

 

“I had to stop him. I didn't have time to tell anyone.”

He sighs, looking me over. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

 

“No. But you are.” I can see how he's favoring his left arm. 

 

“It's nothing. I'll be fine.” 

 

“Dad…” 

 

“Come on. I'm sure Ross is having a hey day.”

 

I don't think my dad had counted on Secretary Ross showing up in person. And he was definitely not having a hey day. He looked pissed and he was all for taking it out on my dad, Nat and I. 

 

All in all he gave us 36 hours to find them and somehow convince them to return. I knew it wasn't going to be easy. And I knew I had to somehow convince my dad to let me tag along. Something else that wasn't going to be easy. 

 

But as it turned out, I wouldn't need to be doing much convincing. 

 

Not long after Ross left, I got a text from an unknown number, leaving me with a very hard decision to make. 

  
_ ‘Skye? It's Steve. I need your help.’ _


	120. Notice

So, as many of you may have noticed I have been kind of slacking lately as far as updates go for all of my stories. Life got kinda busy and I've been working through some crap that happened over the holidays and since. School started up already four weeks ago and I've been kinda bogged down with that too.

With that being said, as things start to lighten up a bit, I plan on continuing to write, but not this story. I've decided to end this one where it is, as some impulsive decisions, paired with some complex story lines have brought me into a corner that I cannot write myself out of without some extensive backtracking that I just don't see as worth it.

So yes, I am rewriting this story for the millionth time, but it's going to take a different turn. Pretty much the same character, but I'm giving her a new name and a semi-new plot. A lot of what happens in Iron Skye will remain the same, but some things are going to change. I'll give everyone a more extensive layout when I post the new chapter as to what is being changed and what's not.

Thank you for hanging with me, some of you through several rewrites and I hope you stick with me through this one as well.


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